


The Smuggler and the Slave

by Captain_Kiri_Storm



Category: Original Work
Genre: Aphrodisiacs, Bounty Hunters, Can a Slave Consent?, Dorks in Love, Dubious Morality, Extremely Dubious Consent, Fast Ships Good Times, Gambling, M/M, Master/Slave, Original Fiction, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Porn With Plot, Science Fiction, Second Chances, Slow Romance, Smuggling, Star Wars Adjacent, questionable life choices
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:00:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 33
Words: 38,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22324471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Kiri_Storm/pseuds/Captain_Kiri_Storm
Summary: Tobias Corrban has made some bad choices before.First there was the incident on Halycon. That left him with a permanent ban from the Juno System and a new starboard fender. Then he crossed crime boss Renjar Nellin and got a bounty on his head. It doesn't help matters that Corrban moonlights as a bounty hunter as the mood takes him. He's used to living life on the edge. He doesn't have time for anyone else, least of all a slave he won in a card game.Han has been through hell and back, that's for sure, and Corrban is the exact wrong person to deal with him. Of course, the other option is just as unthinkable, so what's a man to do? He has bigger problems than one little slave, anyways.Nellin is back and this time, he wants blood.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 47
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't feel like putting this bit of original work on wattpad, so here you guys go! I might or might not have seen Solo recently, so you're welcome.

Tobias Corrban leaned back against the ratty wooden chair, his dark eyes hidden under the hood he wore. Most of the other beings in this little rat hole ignored him. They were too wrapped up in their own petty little dramas, just like he was wrapped up in his. Corrban didn't bother touching the lukewarm beer in front of him. It tasted like piss and he was in a bad enough mood as it was. He didn't need to add a bad hangover to the mix. Corrban stared down at his communicator, going through his messages. The shipment wouldn't be on Helian for another week. Corrban was already three days behind as it was. This was seriously hitting him in the bank account and he was starting to get pissed.

"Corrban!" Someone slapped him on the back and dropped down beside him. "It's been awhile, mate! I didn't think I would meet you here."

Corrban looked up. "Sheyvan. Just the person I didn't want to see. Come to collect on that little love tip Nellin put out?"

Sheyvan tipped his head back and laughed. "You honestly think I'm that low? You're my oldest friend!" He reached out a grease stained hand and ruffled Corrban's white blonde hair. Corrban tried to jerk away from him, but Sheyvan held his hand down just long enough. The older man was Earth born and he never lost a chance to rub it in. "I wouldn't turn you in, Tobias. You saved my ass enough that I think you're owed the favor. That said, I need a partner."

"For?" Corrban grabbed the beer and forced himself to take a sip. He wrinkled his nose, but forced himself to drink more of the foul shit. He paid for it, he might as well drink it. "I know about you and your little schemes, Sheyvan. I don't need another ding on my record."

"Have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Do you want the alphabetized list?" Corrban hissed. He forced himself to down the rest of the beer and rubbed his face. "The last time I worked with you, we wound up down a coal mine! You know how long it took me to get clean?"

"Didja get the diamonds, though?" Sheyvan asked. He crossed his arms and smirked. Some of his long salt and pepper hair had come out of its usual plait and his tanned skin had a few new scars branded across it. Knowing Sheyvan, he'd been in a few more fights. Fights that he might have won, going by the regulation blaster hanging off his hip. It looked like an expensive model, not the run of the mill DEKA-34 Corrban liberated from a Formosoan gangster back in the day. In hindsight, that wasn't his best plan. There was a reason he couldn't go back to Terra Firma.

"I'm still finding coal dust in my vents," Corrban replied. He paused, weighing his options. Walking out on a load was a dick move, but so was making him wait a week. It would do well to teach Lycan not to stiff him. Time was money. He leaned forwards and grinned some. "So. Whatcha want? What is so pressing that you're dragging my doomed ass into it?"

"I got that ship," Sheyvan began. "I need a second pilot if I'm gonna handle the load that needs moved. No more moving wheat and timer around the galaxy, Corrban. This is big stuff. This is an Akylian castle that some billionaire took apart and wants to ship to Mars. They're moving it in pieces and I've got a direct line on the biggest chunk. There's just one problem - I need a pilot I can trust to run the second loading arm. There's no way in hell that my rinky dink little loading arm can take twenty thousand tons of rubble and stone pylons. That's not counting all the stained glass and the woodwork that's going with it. So, Corrban, are you in or not?"

Corrban mulled it over for a few minutes. On one hand, he could piss Lycan off. On the other, he could make a quick buck and make it up to Lycan later. Either way, that pain in the ass Deltan really needed to work on his customer service. "Against my better judgement, I'm in. What's my cut?"

"Forty percent." Sheyvan leaned forwards, his long braid of hair scraping the scarred table. Sheyvan was much older than he looked and he kept his hair pulled back in a braid. Corrban didn't know why and he wasn't going to ask. Sheyvan gave him a sly smile as his fingers beat a tattoo on the table. "I figure you owe me for the Nikoralia incident." He paused. "That was a low blow, Corrban. You almost got me killed."

Corrban raised his empty mug. "Only because you tried it first, Sheyvan. I'm not that much of a pajero."

"Stop butchering my mother's language and get your stuff," Sheyvan growled. He rolled his eyes and grabbed his battered leather hat and the stained silk cape he always wore. Corrban thought it might have been blue once. Maybe with silver thread. It had turned a rough grey color from years of misuse, though, and patches of it shimmered in the light. Sheyvan never did care much for his clothing. Unlike Corrban, Sheyvan might have washed his clothes once a week. As it was, Sheyvan carried himself well as he stalked through the rest of the bar. Corrban only paused to tip the droid waiter and leave a few credit chips to cover the mess. He might have spilled just a little bit.

Sheyvan stalked down to his ship, cursing under his breath as he haggled with the dock master. Corrban ignored him. He kicked at some of the loose gravel, glancing around the half abandoned strip of tarmac. High stone walls surrounded the spot and scraggly weeds tried to burst through the ground covering. Rust streaked down poured concrete walls. Feral animals, most the local equivalent of a feral cat, prowled around the outskirts. Corrban threw a rock at one of them. The animal snarled at him, its patchy blue fur standing straight up. Corrban backed off. He didn't need to get some zoonotic disease, nor did he want to get bitten. If he kept antagonizing the whatever it was, he was going to get both.

"Just pay the nice man," Corrban finally said. "I'm cold and we're not making any money right now."

"You wanna keep giving me orders?" Sheyvan asked.

"If that gets me out of the cold, I'll give you orders til the stars burn out." Corrban crossed his arms and smirked. "So. Are you gonna pay the nice man or are we gonna freeze our asses off until the sun goes supernova?"

Sheyvan shoved a plastic card at the slightly grumpy looking dock master before stalking off. "That's coming out of your fee."

"Doesn't it always?" Corrban craned his head as they passed under the ships and he finally stopped in front of a banged up Eldra-Class freighter. She was an old thing, her metal hide scored by countless asteroid strikes and laser burns. The old laser paint was still visible in some spots, but the rest of it was the blue-black of steel exposed to deep space and a hyperlane. The ship started humming as they approached and her ventral ports belched out clouds of stinking gases. Corrban gagged as he climbed up the loading ramp. From the smell of it, one of the hydraulic arms had sprang a leak. Of course, knowing Sheyvan, it was already fixed and the man simply hadn't bothered to clean it up yet.

Corrban dumped his heavy plate armor off on a floral print couch before he settled down. "Tell me more about this billionaire. Legal or illegal?"

Sheyvan settled beside him. "As far as I know, he's as legal as you can be, given the fact that he has more money than all the gods in the universe. He fancies himself some sort of collector and apparently, Akylian shit is all the rage these days."

"I'm sure the locals love that," Corrban muttered. He unpacked his traveling bag, going through all that he owned in the galaxy. It wasn't much. He had some extra clothes, his medical kit, charging equipment for his blaster and his comm, along with a well worn deck of cards. "So, Sheyvan? Whatcha say to a game of Martian poker?"

"I hope you came prepared to lose," Sheyvan brightly said. He sat down on the other side of the table, grinning like a loon. Apparently he'd forgotten the last time they played this game - and how badly Corrban beat him. Sheyvan clapped his hands. "Deal me in."


	2. Chapter 2

"You cheat at everything!" Sheyvan threw his cards down and got up, fury written across his features. "You're a no-good cheating scumbag!"

Corrban looked up calmly, not really being in the mood for a fight this early into the trip. The last thing he needed was to get tossed up the airlock. He wanted to get rich - not dead. That said, he probably shouldn't have played as aggressive as he did. Corrban had learned from the masters, though, and they played for blood. He'd seen slaves, ships, and cargoes worth millions of credits bet, won, and lost. Sheyvan getting his pride hurt didn't quite equal up to that. Corrban leaned back and crossed his arms, letting Sheyvan work though his irritation. They hadn't even been playing for money - they had just been using old Terran pennies for chips and using snack cakes as the payout.

"If you didn't telegraph your moves, I wouldn't have trounced you," Corrban replied. "If you're going to act like this, I'm not going to play cards with you." He pocketed his battered deck, shoved his share of the cakes into one of his jacket pockets, and started walking to his bedroom.

Sheyvan's ship was fairly big, as small freighters went. She was made for a crew of seven, but it was possible for one or two men to keep her flying. The _Devil's Bastard Son_ was an older Eldra-Class and, as such, she was well over five hundred years old. Many of the older spaceships could be outfitted with a simple script that kept the internal systems running, when in the bad old days, they would have been ran manually. It also wasn't unheard of for spaceships to last six hundred years or more - as long as the core and pylons were solid, things could be added and taken away as needed. The _Son_ had been well cared for and her bare steel walls had been carefully cleaned and preserved, rather than left to rot.

Corrban threw his knapsack down on the narrow bunk before he started to pull out his things. He favored drab blue trousers and holsters, rather than the elaborate silks and brocades favored by the wealthy. Corrban drew a hand through his white blonde hair as he sorted through all of his things. He plugged his comm and blaster cell into the wall before he flopped back on the dusty blankets. It was pretty clear that Sheyvan lived alone most of the time. The crew quarters hadn't been cleaned in a G'tian year. Dust and cobwebs crowded the ceiling vents and the corners. The wall mounted light was still going strong, but it was weak compared to the hot, bright lights of the rest of the ship.

Sheyvan knocked on the metal frame before throwing a handful of papers in Corrban's lap. The older man scowled at him. "You might be needing this. The man's name is Kileo - _Sir_ Kileo and don't you forget the sir."

"Do I look stupid?" Corrban softly asked. He rifled through the papers and tossed them aside. It didn't tell him much, just that Kileo was very rich and wanted something moved to another planet because he was a rich son of a bitch. Corrban got up, his ice blue eyes dark with anger. He was tired, he wanted to sleep, and Sheyvan was a sore loser. "Just because I won our game doesn't mean that I don't know which end of a ship has the reactor!"

"I'm pretty sure you cheated," Sheyvan growled. He shook his head, though and drew back. "Look. I'm not going to argue with you anymore because it, well..." He glanced down, looking a little sheepish. "It's kinda petty now that I think about it."

"Thank you," Corrban huffed. He got up, though, and grabbed the papers. "Kileo deals in slaves? Sheyvan... that's a thousand shades of _very_ -fucking-illegal. That's more illegal that thorium smuggling." Which was saying something. Not that Corrban hadn't indulged in smuggling various radioactive materials before. He drew the line at live cargo, though. Especially slaves. "If they pull our credentials, we're gonna lose any chance of government contracts."

"When did that law pass?"

"Last week. The Andromedii pitched a shit fit over it, as one does." Corrban rolled his eyes. "Maybe they shouldn't have an enslaved labor force making all their ships, then. The law was big news, anyways."

"I was in the Nikoladian sector," Sheyvan said. "You know radio waves have a hard time with the nebula." He flopped down on the bed and gave Corrban a heated look. Corrban sat beside him, not quite sure what was going on, until Sheyvan kissed him softly. Corrban started - he hadn't expected that, and Sheyvan drew back some. "We can move to my room, if you like."

Corrban sat up, halfway ready to strip his clothes off and have a good time. "You know how to break a bed in, don't you?"

"It's been a long time since I've had pleasant company," Sheyvan murmured. He dipped his head again and kissed Corrban, nipping the younger man's lower lip. Corrban leaned back and allowed him, humming softly. Sheyvan was a generous lover, even if he had the personality of a wet goat. Sheyvan kissed Corrban again and pressed him back against the bedding. "Let me make you feel good, sweetheart. I know you want it."

"Not right now, I don't." Corrban pushed Sheyvan off and straightened his shirt. He was painfully hard, but beyond that, he wasn't feeling like he wanted to do anything.

Sheyvan understood and backed off. He patted beside him on the bed before grabbing for his comm. "Then sit here or something. I'm lonely and you're easy."

"And I thought I was a handsome devil," Corrban joked. But he cuddled up all the same and curled into Sheyvan's side. Sheyvan was warm under his layers of clothing and coats. Corrban tended to run cold and the ability to cuddle someone warm was always good. He couldn't help himself but drift off to sleep, safe for the time being beside a man that few would challenge.


	3. Chapter 3

Corrban was weird about food. He didn't mind eating green or innards, but there were some things he just would not touch. Fish for breakfast was one of them. Apparently, Sheyvan liked fried spratfish and potatoes for breakfast. He had a pot of moonflower tea seeping on the stove and the lime flour biscuits, something common to many ships, sitting on the counter. Corrban grabbed a few of those for his breakfast, enjoying the bitter-sweet taste and the coolness from the tea. It wasn't close to ideal, but it was good and he'd had worse. Corrban had gotten into some bad spots before and the places where he wound up on his back didn't serve breakfast. He could make do with biscuits and tea.

"What system are we in now?" Corrban casually asked. He got up, searching through the refrigeration unit's lower bins for something sweet and green.

"Jonakasakay." Sheyvan didn't look up from his tablet. "What in Rhiannon's sweet moon are you looking for, Corrban? The lost moon of Terra?"

"An apple." He paused, giving Sheyvan a dark look. "Or something to take my mind off of your nasty fish."

He made a face and mimed gagging. Sheyvan threw a fried fin at him. Corrban yelped, ducking the fried food. Sheyvan got up, covering the tight galley with two strides. He grabbed Corrban and kissed him fiercely, pressing the shorter man into a wall of cabinets. Corrban groaned into the kiss, grabbing Sheyvan's hair and nipping his bottom lip. He could get used to waking up like this. It wasn't half bad. Sheyvan pressed him into the cabinets, easily wrapping Corrban's legs around his waist. Corrban struggled with the buttons and straps that Sheyvan wore, cursing as he dealt with that pain in the ass cross body holster. Sheyvan hiked Corrban's shirt up, kissing and nipping at his chest and belly.

"Yes! Gods above! _Yes_!" Corrban howled and grabbed at Sheyvan, dragging him ever closer.

Corrban couldn't help himself. He was loud, he was proud of it, and this felt good. He groaned loudly and pulled Sheyvan closer to him. They stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying each other and reliving parts of their old life. Sheyvan drew back after a few minutes, his eyes wide and dark. Corrban slid off the counter and kissed his cheek. He righted his clothes, grabbed his food, and trying to ignore what was going on with the rest of his body. He wanted Sheyvan, but the last time they had done that, it was a mistake. Both men were healthy, of course. Corrban took all the necessary precautions. He knew Sheyvan did, too. There was no way in hell that they would get each other sick - Corrban was just hungry.

"Any reason why you leave me like this?" Sheyvan rasped. He crossed his arms, watching Corrban like a cyarr-hawk. Sheyvan growled low. His eyes were hungry and his body language screamed dominance. "You and your goddam hair. Like the fucking moon."

"Sounds very poetic, coming from you," Corrban lightly said. "But if you want anything, brush your teeth. I don't want to taste fish." He offered Sheyvan a wry grin. "That, and I'm not doing this just on your spit. Sorry, I don't want to bleed and I know how rough you can get." He went through one of the drawers, tossing his loose white shirt aside. He was sporting Sheyvan's bruises. Corrban knew it would drive Sheyvan mad - and that was why he was doing it. "Brush your teeth, fix me breakfast, and we'll get on with this just like my mother did."

"You drive a hard bargain." Sheyvan pulled out a jar of sparkling clear jelly and slid it over to Corrban. "Smell that, Tobias? It's some sort of fancy rich asshole food. I stole it from the last son of a bitch I worked for." He scooped out a bit on his finger and offered it to Corrban. "Just try some, will you?"

Corrban licked it off of the other man's fingers. It was sweet and savory, taste that he couldn't actually describe that well. It was good, though, and he grabbed for the rest of it. Sheyvan just laughed. He offered Corrban a little bit more and the younger man enjoyed that. Sheyvan finally offered Corrban a piece of stale bread and slathered it with the same clear jelly. He made a piece for himself and it was very clear that he enjoyed it just as much as Corrban did, if not more. They ate in companionable silence. Corrban looked over Sheyvan, noting the way that he hadn't bothered to button his shirt up and he'd dumped the harness on the floor. Sheyvan looked rather dashing, if you asked Corrban.

No one had, but he didn't care. He sat on the counter, drinking the rest of his tea. There were only a few things he could do to pass the time. Ethernet usage was limited - there was only so much you could do before you screwed with the hyperspace computers. Most ship computers held ten or fifteen movies and chaos knew how many episodes of local dramas. You didn't want to watch all the entertainment at once. Sex was on option. Many traders and spacers had no problems with a partner who was willing, no matter how human or alien they were. Corrban was pretty much willing to get down, but there were some things he was going to need first. Such as, Sheyvan washing his mouth out.

"I think I want you in the bedroom," Corrban quietly said. He glanced up, grinning at the older man. "Or do you have to want me now?"

Sheyvan grinned at him. "I'm not sure how I want you," he finally said. "All I know is that I want you and I'm not going to let you forget it for a damn long time."

"I know that," Corrban smartly said. He made a face at Sheyvan, rewarded when the older man growled at him. He blew another kiss and grinned just a little.

He knew what drove Sheyvan mad. There might have been a reason why he was doing what he was doing. They wouldn't have time for this when he was with Lord Kileo and there was no guarantee he would like it when two men were going at it. Then again, he kept slaves. There was no telling what he did with them and it was very rare for a slave owner to not fuck male slaves, even if it was just to make sure everyone knew who was on top. Corrban figured that most spacers would figure that he and Sheyvan fucked on the regular. It was the time honored way of passing time on these big old freighters. Well, the _Devil's Bastard Son_ wasn't a big ship, but she was just good enough.

"You drive me mad," Sheyvan growled. He grabbed Corrban and forced him into the captain's quarters. Corrban fumbled for the slick. He knew that Sheyvan would stop or slow down if he wanted it - Sheyvan had proved that years ago - and he knew what he wanted right now. Sheyvan growled softly and kissed Corrban hard. "I don't think I could ever hate you, you blue eyed devil."

"I don't think I could hate you." Corrban paused, trying to pull his pants down. "Get your fat ass off of me, unless you wanna ruin my clothes."

Sheyvan laughed. "Demanding little thing."

"Yeah, that's me." Corrban pushed him off and managed to get his trousers and underclothes off.

He groaned softly as Sheyvan's fingers breached him. Despite the look in his eyes and the way he was holding himself, he was gentle and slow. He kissed Corrban deeply and pulled his fingers out. Corrban whined, kicking at him. He wasn't going to let this go easily! Sheyvan just laughed, kissed him again, and Corrban didn't think of anything else for the next little bit.


	4. Chapter 4

Corrban hadn't been to Akylia in a very long time. He didn't like the place - it reeked of false gold, wine, and misery. Women who made themselves look like the Arin angels and slaves who stared at you with dead, haunted eyes. The Andromedi, with their liquid gold eyes and wolf like features, watching and betting vast sums of credits on the gaming tables. The Kai, with their golden skin and long, silvery hair, drinking more than should be possible. The Dacians, with their patterned red and black skins, looking like the demons out of ancient fables. Every species that he could think of had real estate on Akylia, often to drink the booze and lose half their fortunes gambling.

Lord Mithras allowed it. Corrban was pretty sure that he had his hand in all the pots. Not that Corrban blamed the man - after all, he had to eat and running a royal household couldn't have been cheap. As long as he wasn't attacking any of the people and allowed a few personal freedoms, Corrban was pretty much okay with it. He just wanted to carry the castle and get gone. He wasn't sure if Lord Kileo actually had permission to move a castle or not - he personally didn't care. If Mars had given the okay and Kileo had the cash, Corrban was alright with doing the job. He just wasn't going to deal with slaves or any of the hard jobs, like the ones that could turn you into a mindless slave.

They touched down fairly easily. Corrban pulled a cloak over his white blonde hair, looking around. He didn't like the dock. The soaring, vaulted ceilings were ripe for collapse and he could see the stress lines forming. The place had been covered with a nice facade of green marble and Corrban could seen hints of gold glittering against the dark, verdant backdrop. His grimy boots contrasted against the creamy marble floor and the air smelled of sweet spices, rather than grease and exhaust fumes. Corrban didn't even trip over any trailing power cables, hoses, or pools of filthy, oily water. The place glittered and gleamed, full of light rather than filth, stinking smoke, and haze.

"This place is way too fucking clean," Corrban muttered. He gave Sheyvan a long look and pulled at the cloak. "Where's the graffiti? The rust? What's a place like this doing in a dock?! It looks like a palace!"

"You haven't seen the rest of the place," Sheyvan laughed. His dark eyes glittered and he kissed Corrban's forehead. "Let's get you to Kileo's place and then you can see what real opulence is. This place is a dock and it's made like a dock."

"It's a palace." Corrban shook his head and followed Sheyvan out of the massive, beautiful space. If it hadn't been a palace once, Corrban would eat his cloak. "That's a palace, Sheyvan. No way in hell is that just a dock. I've never seen gold in a dock before and you're not gonna make me look like an idiot by having me believe that it's always been a dock. I mighta been born on Eridi, but I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday."

Sheyvan just shook his head as he guided Corrban through the twisted, tangled mess of streets. Everything was made of the same brushed, creamy marble. Here and there, little plants had been placed in bronze containers. Weeping willow trees trailed in the large ditches on either side of the street. It was cobbled, like all old cities were, and that didn't help matters that the buildings seemed to crowd in on them. A few statues of the gods, their faces weathered and grey, loomed. They were massive things, with a core of brass and brick, and the extremities were a peach colored marble covered in painted plaster. Bas reliefs of men killing leopard like creatures, cracked and worn with age, lined what must have been a street of beasts.

Corrban shivered. He could see bits of tarnished silver and broken glass - everything worn and faded, giving the feeling of faded glory. The people of the city kept well away from them. They wore strange, loose fabrics, patterned in rich colors with strange designs. The deeper into the city they went, the more cats started to curl up at the bases of statues and lie across wrought iron grates. Moss clung to the chipped, faded marble. Trees stood over brooks and trailed their roots into the cool, crystal water. Corrban felt very out of place. He was used to filth and streaks of rust, pools of fetid water and darkness. This was almost too light, too bright, too free. It was nothing like he was used too.

Sheyvan took him to a massive palace. The gates looked to be carved out of solid rock crystal and the eyes of the lions that flanked it were blood red rubies. Corrban crossed himself as he crossed into the impressive courtyard. Acres of land stretched around him, every blade of glass trimmed to the right height. Flowers in millions of colors, some visible to humans and others not, followed the crushed shell path. Corrban watched in awe as a massive white horse was exercised near a carved stone. It looked like it had been made out of a single piece of mountain and veins of quartz and pyrite crawled up the sides. Corrban didn't know why anyone would waste that much money on a stable, but he wasn't wealthy. He never had that much money to waste on such vanities.

Sheyvan caught Corrban's hand as he started up the stairs. "You need to be careful."

"I know." Corrban grinned, but he was still nervous. His clothing was old and shabby compared to the beauty that had to be inside. "I'm not stupid, you know. I'm not gonna get myself killed."

"I know." Sheyvan kissed Corrban softly. "I just worry, you know."

"I know." Corrban rested his head against Sheyvan, gathering courage for the chaos within those doors.


	5. Chapter 5

Corrban's jaw dropped as soon as the gilt doors closed behind him. The palace looked like something out of a fairy tale: gold and crystal and diamonds dripped off of every surface and the dark purple slaves had pearl crusted belts. The floor was a bright, colorful marble, inlaid to look like tangled tree branches. Corrban hardly wanted to walk over it, it looked so valuable. His boots, scraped as they were and covered in dirt, looked like a sacrilege against that floor. Corrban was pretty sure that Lord Mithras had opalized flowers stuck in gilt pots. The place looked good. Like it was some sort of prince's wet dreams, painted with a little bit more gold and fuck ton more crystal.

After the glitter wore off, Corrban thought that it looked a little tacky. The marble pillars looked like they were wood painted to look like marble and one of the floors looked like it was some sort of three dimensional oil cloth rather than some sort of actual inlaid floor. Sheyvan, of course, looked completely unimpressed. Now Corrban knew why he'd dressed up in his old blue greatcoat and the boots. The boots that he'd actually polished instead of just let get coated with all sort of dirt and grime. Corrban felt so shabby with his worn pants and his billowing, dirty white shirt. He looked like some sort of shabby urchin child and these were all the pretty people.

Corrban paused in front of the ballroom. A man with sharp, dark eyes stared at him. He seemed to be nothing more than hatred, wrapped behind silken pants and body oil. There was something handsome to him, but Corrban wasn't touching that ass. He looked like he'd take Corrban's throat out with his teeth. Corrban wasn't a fan of getting killed just because he wanted to have sex with some unwilling being. Sheyvan might try it, but those gleaming white teeth made him look like he was some sort of predator. Corrban waggled his fingers in front of the man's face, just to tease him, and he snapped. Corrban drew his hands and yelped. Maybe that wasn't his best move, but he didn't want the poor bastard to be wounded.

Sheyvan gave Corrban a long look. "That... was not one of your brightest moves. All I can ask is _why_."

"Seemed like a good idea at the time?" Corrban suggested. He glanced towards the man and winced when he collapsed, his hands on his neck. "I feel really bad now. Really, _really_ bad."

"Congratulations, your petty little joke bit that very pretty man in the ass," Sheyvan drawled. He leaned back against one frescoed wall and shook his head. "Remind me to never get on your bad side, because that was one low move right there." He paused. "If you feel really bad, you can go talk to the owners and see about buying him. Don't know how much he's going to cost - that collar means he's a pain in the ass - but you can try."

That sounded like a good idea, so Corrban filed it away for later. He pushed deeper into the palace, cursing as he almost tripped over a water feature. All of the silver, gold, and crystal was starting to strain the eyes. Corrban would have liked to stare at that half naked slave. He figured that looking wouldn't hurt anything, even though he did want to touch. And that little blonde one, too. It looked like his hair had been bleached, much the same as Corrban did, and he was wearing a heavy silver and topaz collar. Corrban plopped himself down in a chair and grabbed a flue of champagne from a passing waiter. He could get used to the pretty people life if it meant this good champagne and all the pretty men.

Sheyvan pointed to a dark skinned man with long, braided hair. His hair looked to be studded with sapphires and he wore nothing more than a pair of loose silk pants and an open vest. He looked rather handsome, Corrban thought, but he wasn't nearly as pretty as the bleached blonde one or the one with the thick, black hair. Corrban stood up and sauntered over. He really did stick out, he knew, but that was to be expected. He just smirked and tapped the man on the shoulder. This didn't look like Lord Mithras, but going by the amount of gold on his fingers, he was working here of his own free will and accord. Corrban wasn't exactly a charmer, but he could try.

"I'm here to see Lords Mithras and Kileo." Corrban grinned at him and saluted. "Also, I'm interested. You got two slaves. One of them I kinda got in trouble and the other one looks like sin on two legs."

The man rolled his eyes. "I'm Sir Jalari, if you care. I'll send for the Lords and if you point out the ones you want, I'll talk to the management. You are Master...?"

"Corrban. Tobias Corrban." Corrban gave the man a mock bow. He grabbed his comm and checked his bank account. He wasn't hurting for cash, but he was pretty sure that both of those were going to set him back a pretty penny.

Jalari rolled his eyes and took out a tablet computer. "Haven't I heard of you before? Aren't you the joker that nearly blew up that power plant on Corrov? Because that took some fucking skill."

"That was an accident," Corrban replied. He looked down and shook his head. "I was getting shot at and a few of my of my shots went a little bit wide. Shit happens. Is Mithras coming now?"

"If he was here, you would know." Jalari gave him a smile that was slightly less than friendly. There was something dark in his eyes, something that spoke of something dark and hidden that Corrban might prefer to stay hidden.

Someone dragged the dark haired slave over. He growled and tried to struggle, but they stunned him. He crumpled to the ground. Going from the look in his eyes, he was in a lot of pain. Corrban really did feel for him. That neck of his had to be sore after he was shocked several times and then dragged over here. However, Corrban forced the man to kneel and offered him a sip from his champagne. The man gave him a look, a look that promised hatred and awful things to come, not the sexy fun times that Corrban wanted. He pulled the man to his feet and pressed a kiss to his unwilling lips. The man snarled, shoving at him with bound hands, but the collar glowed and he dropped. He screamed like he was being murdered before curling up and crying.

Jalari stepped over the bound man. "The both of them will be five hundred standard credits. The bulk of this is the young one - if you just want this thing," Jalari kicked the prone man in the ribs, "I'm sure we could find a much more agreeable prince."

"I'll take it." Corrban tried to keep his voice steady. He didn't want to do this now, not after he'd gotten a first hand look at what really happened. "Just... take him to my room, please. Have him cleaned and prepared."

"As you wish." Jalari bowed and yanked the still twitching slave up by his thick, curly black hair. "Han! Get over here!"

Corrban slunk back to Sheyvan. He'd really done it this time.


	6. Chapter 6

Corrban hated to make an ass of himself, but he wanted to get a good look at the men he'd just purchased. The little blonde one looked cute and all, but he had a feeling that the dark one might be trouble. There was just something in his nearly black eyes that might have scared a lesser man away. The thing was, Corrban wasn't always known for his good sense. He wanted to get away from the banquet and look at his men. Of course, in doing so he was going to piss off all these very powerful men. Corrban counted at least three members of the Galactic Senate, including one man who had been very pointedly against any sort of laws regarding slavery. Of course, the man had shot one of his pregnant wives for walking in on him with a mistress, so he was pretty much a bag of human excrement. 

Of course, Corrban had to stand next to him in at the gala.

He plastered a smile on his face and tried to drown his rising sickness in the glass of shimmering rose wine. The thing was almost too sweet for him, but he needed that. He needed to get drunk so he wouldn't tell the man off. Corrban thought his name was Pearson. Something like that. Something just as smarmy as the man himself, with his narrow features and his watery blonde hair. Corrban knew his own black roots were starting to show through, but he was a bit too lazy to get the dye job redone. Besides, It really didn't look good with his bone structure and his skin. The colored contacts could stay, though. The last thing he needed was for someone to recognize him after the Corrov clusterfuck.

Pearson looked at him and gave him a dry smile. "So I heard you took the little menace off of Mithras' hands. Might I interest you in a... get together? To break in the new pain in the ass you just bought?"

"I'd rather not." Corrban made a face. "I don't want to hurt him. I... I'd like to make friends with him. He's mine and I already did something pretty nasty to him." He took another drink and tried to keep his cool. The last thing he wanted to do was get in a fight with a man who could kill him. "The little blonde one looks like a lamb if you ask me. He's going to be the sweet one. It's the other one that I worry about - he looks like he's nothing but trouble."

"Oh he is." Pearson laughed. "You need to break him in before he does something ill mannered, like try to kill you."

Corrban downed the rest of his wine and left. He was tired of this and he needed to get lost before he punched Pearson in the nose. He was a smuggler, not a politician, and the last thing he needed to do was forget that. Corrban had a map of the place, but he still got turned around a few times. The place was carved out of a solid chunk of pink marble and bits of hanging crystal had been turned into light fixtures. The place seemed to glow and be alive with a brilliant, gleaming light. Corrban thought it was beautiful, especially the pretty gold leaf that was pressed all over the wooden doors. It really was so pretty. Like something out of a dream he'd had once.

He knocked on the door and opened it. Corrban didn't see anything, but he didn't know if that meant anything or not. He had a feeling that the dark eyed one was going to be trouble. Corrban cleared his throat and pulled off his greatcoat, making sure that they could see he was unarmed. He made a show of crushing the control ring he'd been given under his boot and leaned against the elegantly painted wall. Something rustled beside him, so Corrban moved backwards. He watched as the little blonde slave crawled out from a little cavern he'd made out of the potted plants. Corrban didn't touch him, though he did enjoy the way he looked. His pale, gleaming skin had been oiled and someone had sprinkled glitter all over him.

"You're beautiful," Corrban murmured. He did notice how shy the kid was, so he tossed the kid his greatcoat and watched as he tried to wrap himself up. "Try not to get too much oil on the wool. It's going to be a pain in the ass to get out."

"Thank you," the kid whispered. He looked up and Corrban noticed how light blue his eyes were. "I'm called Hans. The... the other is called Skyler and I don't think he likes you very much."

"Yeah, I thought so." Corrban helped the kid into the bed and wrapped a few blankets around him. "You get warm and I'll look for Skyler. I'm not going to hurt him."

"You touch the kid and you're dead."

Corrban raised his hands and backed off. "I'm not going to hurt him. He's just cold and I have enough furs and blankets to keep him warm."

Skyler stood up, his dark eyes narrow and angry. His body was lean and lanky and he was covered in a fine layer of dark hair. Corrban swallowed. The man truly was beautiful. He wanted to touch, wanted to kiss, wanted to explore that leaned, tanned body. Corrban stood aside. He didn't want to scare the man or even get stabbed. Corrban moved aside and allowed the man to slink away. He was completely naked and going by the way his dick looked, he wasn't into this at all. Corrban hadn't even tried to look at the kid. Someone had made sure that Skyler was completely stripped of hair except for his hair. It looked like it had hurt and Corrban didn't like to think that he'd caused any pain to the younger man.

"Don't look at me like this," Skyler hissed. He drew back and glared at the other man. He wrapped a blanket around his middle, his lined eyes sparking with anger. "Don't look at him like this!"

"I'm trying not too." Corrban averted his eyes and wished he had a pair of pants. "Look. I'll need you to budge up, because I have to sleep there too. But first..." Corrban sat down, cracked open the bottle of rose petal wine, and offered a little to Skyler. "It's not very strong and it's got a very nice taste. Far better than the rot gut we usually taste."

"You drink like a fish and expect me to trust you!" Skyler growled, but he still knocked the glass back. "You were right about this shit not being strong. It's like sweet rosewater with a little bit of kick!"

"I rather like it." Corrban sprawled down between the other two and closed his eyes. "The name is Corrban, Tobias Corrban, and I've had enough booze tonight so pickle an elephant, so let me crash right now. If you're gonna kill me, kill me when I'm sober enough to know what you're trying to do."

And with that, he decided to crash. If he cuddled Skyler, a little against the other man's will, well, that was between the two of them.


	7. Chapter 7

Corrban nuzzled into a very sweaty, very nice smelling neck. He smiled some and pressed a kiss into that very sweet, very salty neck. "You have a very sexy neck, sweetheart. Mind if I mark you up a little bit? Stars above, your skin tastes good. Like sugarvine nectar. I just wanna eat it all day and I don't mine if I do."

"Well, I _do_." Strong arms pushed him away and growled. "I don't want you getting ideas, jackass. I like my ass just the way it is and I don't need some pain in the ass smuggler making me bleed."

Corrban cracked open one dark eye and yawned slightly. He'd pressed right into Skyler. The other man looked like he wanted to shove Corrban right off the bed and find a knife. Han, of course, was still asleep. His mouth was open and it looked like he was drooling. Corrban smiled softly. The kid was cute. Skyler, in all of his pissed off fury, wasn't. Skyler forced Corrban off the bed. He wrapped a blanket around his middle, the muscles sliding under his tanned skin. Corrban swallowed. The man looked like he was carved out of a piece of Meran marble and then painted to look lifelike. Corrban rolled over on the bed, trying to get a good look at the man.

Skyler narrowed his dark eyes. "Do you mind?! I'm not a piece of meat and I'd rather like it if you didn't stare at me like you're going to feed me to the hounds."

"I don't eat people." Corrban did avert his eyes, though. He reached over and kissed Han's cheek. "Wake up, sweetheart. We need to finalize a trade deal and get you some breakfast." He stroked Han's shoulder again, watching as the other, younger man started to squirm and move his legs. "Wakey, wakey sweetheart. It's time for you to get up and face the day." Corrban picked Han up and smiled as pale blue grey eyes started to open. "That's the spirit. That's the spirit, sweetheart. What do you want for breakfast?"

"We get breakfast?" Han yawned and slumped against Corrban. He nuzzled his cheek against Corrban, his lashes just fluttering against the older man's cheek. "I wanna have breakfast."

"I'll find the menu," Corrban promised. He reached around and grabbed his comm. He found the app, pulling it up, and showed the menu to a yawning Han. "There you go, sweetheart. Can you read?"

"I can read." Han squirmed in his lap and arched his back. "Ohh... that looks very nice." He rested his head on Corrban's shoulder, his fingers trailing over the brightly lit screen. "I think I want fish for breakfast. The fried fish tart and coffee. Master Jalari doesn't let us drink coffee because he says that it gives us too much hair and he doesn't want to use the laser on us." Han snuggled closer and wrapped a hand around Corrban's waist. "If they used the laser on us, we might go sterile and someone might want to use our genes later."

"Well, you deserve full rights over your body." Corrban kissed the top of his head and ordered the food. He raised his head. "Hey, Skyler?! Whatcha want for breakfast?! You can order tea, coffee, fruit juice - anything but booze! That's too expensive for ass o'clock in the morning."

Skyler stuck his head out of the bathroom. He was soaking wet and he looked so much better when he wasn't covered in oil and glitter. "Just get me food, please. Preferably something that tastes good and isn't going to make me sick. Coffee would be nice, too." He paused and gave Han a long look. "Don't order too much fried foods, Han. It'll make you sick and I'm sure that we don't want to annoy our new master, do we?"

Corrban just rolled his eyes. He sent Sheyvan a picture of Skyler's ass and the way he was playing with his shaved short hair. Han curled up in his lap. His eyes slowly drifted clothes and his breathing evened out. Corrban didn't have the heart to wake him up. He kissed the younger man on the head and watched. Skyler took his time in the bathroom and going by the quiet groans, hot water was a luxury for the slaves. Corrban ran his hands across the plush furs. He wanted to live like this, live in a palace of gold and crystal. It was like heaven on earth, especially if he had a beautiful man like Han in his lap. Skyler would have been nice, but Corrban didn't want to get his hands bit off.

Skyler dropped on the bed and grabbed at the tray Corrban carried over. "Oh! Gimme! I want the fucking coffee! Do you know how long it's been since I got to have coffee?" He took a deep sniff and grinned some. "This stuff smells like the good stuff, too. Not the watered down shit they serve the common smugglers." Skyler winced some. "No offense, sir, but the food they give you is crap that I wouldn't feed a dog."

"I'm not going to take it out on you." Corrban sat on the bed and nibbled at the preserved fruit. "Oh stars above. This is going to be _fucking_ good." He grinned. "You too, by the way. Now let's just see if we can get that castle before Sheyvan gets bored and leaves me behind."


	8. Chapter 8

The whole "I need to see a man about a castle" thing seemed funnier in Corrban's head. Skyler looked at him like he was crazy and Han just didn't seem to care.Han wanted to go back to sleep, even though that was the last thing Corrban needed to do. As much as he would have liked to cuddle with that young, lithe body, he couldn't. He had things he needed to do. Sheyvan met him beside a large, ornate indoor waterfall. Plants stretched out all around them and sunlight streamed through the ornate beveled glass. Rainbows seemed to lace the ground and splash over the hand carved flagstones. It truly was beautiful, but Corrban knew that the place was built on blood.

Kileo himself came walking around the corner. The man wasn't the tallest and his bright red hair was covered the by a silk scarf edged with coins. He wore a white and blue kaftan and gold glittered on his fingers, ears, and neck. He moved with the grace of a large cat - anyone could see the blaster and the dagger tucked into his sash. He had skin that was as pale as the moon and his eyes were as green as old glass. He seemed to glow like the moon, dressed as he was in gold and silk and coins. Han cowered behind Sheyvan and even Skyler, who seemed to usually be as cold as ice, seemed nervous. Skyler made himself look smaller. He pressed himself against Corrban's back, his face carefully blank.

"So you're the man who thinks he can move a castle from Akylia to Mars," Kileo drawled. He tossed his hair over his shoulder and the coins jingled. "You two have the best ship, with the best guns, and you seem to find my accommodations... lacking." Kileo's lip curled when he saw Skyler. "That one's one fit for dog food. If you want something better, I'm sure we could find what you're looking for."

"I rather like him," Corrban quietly said. He shrugged and squeezed Skyler's hand. "He's rather nice after he's had his breakfast. I don't want some simpering little thing that's going to slobber all over me. If I wanted that, I'd get a dog."

Sheyvan cleared his throat. "Let's just get this over with before you manage to tick the nice man off."

Corrban thought that 'nice man' was pushing it a little bit, but he kept his mouth shut. He herded Han over to the fountain and they both sat down. This was more Sheyvan's talk than his - Corrban didn't own the _Devil's Bastard Son_. He just worked there. He was extra hands to deal with the weapons that they might need and the cargo carrying trucks. Carrying a castle across a galaxy wasn't something that could be done single-handedly. That thing was going to be several tons of stone, wood, and antique glass. It wouldn't have any value to any pirates, even the type that harassed cargo loads of grain and other sundry supplies. The far flung colonies of every government always needed supplies. Grains were easy to cook and most every form of sentient life could eat them.

Catin couldn't, but they were pretty much obligate carnivores. Of course, they could digest proteins that would kill just about anything else.

Skyler curled up beside Corrban. He seemed rather shaken and his tanned skin had turned an ashen color. Han, too, was oddly silent. Corrban held the both of them, pressing kisses to the back of Han's neck and massaging Skyler's hand. Skyler had always seemed like he was the strong type. He was certainly a spitfire - filled with enough piss and vinegar to make even the most vulgar Kai back off. Corrban liked that about him. He wasn't Andromedi, not by any stretch of the imagination, but he liked their style. No, Corrban was a ship's brat - his mother a smuggler from Terra Firma named Catalina and his father just another pirate. Corrban thought that it must have been a match made in hell, but they had loved each other.

"He's not going to hurt you again," Corrban promised. He bent down and removed the lenses from one of his eyes. His own natural color, a deep, rich brown that was so dark one couldn't see the pupils, shone through. "I got tired of getting looked at weird. United Terra, my ass. Everywhere I went, I was getting looked at weird and followed. So I started to bleach my hair and put lenses in my eyes."

"I like brown eyes better," Skyler murmured. He rested his head on Corrban's shoulder, his dark eyes sharp and hard. "I'm not going to lie down for you, sweetheart. I'm not some pup that will lie down and take it from both ends. I might not have much else, but I have my pride."

"I never asked you to give that up," Corrban replied. He pressed a kiss on Skyler's hand, admiring how big they were. How strong and corded the muscles were. He might have had a thing for men who could break him in two. "Maybe I like my men to have pride. Maybe I like being the one who has to, ahh, give it up. I'm not gonna do anything you don't want me too."

"Bullshit." Skyler rolled his eyes.

"Just because it's bullshit doesn't mean that it's not true." Corrban cringed as soon as he said that.

"I think something being bullshit automatically negates any truth there might be in a statement," Skyler calmly said. "I actually did go to school, you know. Maybe not for however many years they go nowadays. I'm not like Han - I wasn't born in slavery. They pulled me off a space station because having long hair means that you're a woman now." He rolled his eyes. "I used to follow Our Lady Ka'ian. Then they shaved my head."

"I don't care if you dye your hair pink and put neon purple bowties in it," Corrban replied.

Sheyvan walked over and clapped Corrban's shoulder. "Deal's done. Now all we have to do is dodge Queen Calypso when we go to Akylia. Apparently, this deal of his isn't exactly legal. The loading might be a pain in our collective asses, but that's why I hired you."

Corrban just smiled. He didn't let go of Skyler's hand, though. He thought he really did like that man, even if he was a pain in the ass.


	9. Chapter 9

One of the few things Corrban liked about long space missions was the fact that you could really get to know someone. Lord Kileo's pad was a fair distance from the castle on Akylia and hyperspace didn't get you in a place within a few seconds or a few hours. Hyperspace had various levels and if you went too deep, your ship could literally come apart at the seams. No one wanted that to happen, so the computers on a ship's reactor would only allow you to go only so deep. Corrban had heard of a few daredevils and ne'er-do-wells who had tried to modify their crates to let them go deeper into the great unknown. Usually, the remains were spat out of a black hole six months later or a few crumpled pieces of metal were found in the bellies of deep space monsters.

Skyler sat beside him and completely ignored the movie playing across the screen. He didn't have a taste for old fashioned Terran dramas with planes that were well over five centuries old. Corrban wondered if any of those old crates were still flying or if they just made reproductions nowadays. He had been to an airshow when he was on Titan and though he had enjoyed it, he wondered how well those airplanes actually flew. The _Devil's Bastard Son_ was old, but the only original thing left in her was the bucket seats on the bridge. Ships like her were made to be ripped apart and put back together again with minimal effort. They weren't nearly as ticky as a centuries old steam locomotive or an old Corsair.

"You find that enjoyable?" Skyler softly asked. "Watching a bunch of shirtless, sweaty men beat on each other and hop in beat up airplanes to go kill people? Or try to shave each other's head with a pair of dull razors?"

"This was good clean fun back on Terra," Corrban quietly said. He smiled some, knowing that he looked different with his dark eyes instead of the ice blue. He had also shaved his head, so the black was showing through the stubble. "I used to watch this movie when I was a child - we watched it over and over again and we pretended that we were in those planes. That we were something back on Terra Firma, not a bunch of street kids trying to survive on Centeotl. They had us out in the corn fields, growing bio fuel for their fancy gliders back on Terra Firma." He looked away and sighed. "You can't eat that corn, it'll kill a cow... it stinks up the entire planet. It was hell."

"That sounds bad," Skyler softly said. "I was born on a space station, moderately well to do parents. Gleaming chrome, blue glass, steel... We could look out the window and see thousands of stars and a nebula. Sometimes we could see the vacuum snakes winding their way across the stars. It was a beautiful place." He paused and took Corrban's hand. "Why did they treat you like that?"

"Because we were disposable in the old country," Tobias quietly said. "There was a war, long before I was born. The first American emperor decided that he was going to take my home country because it was nothing but a shit hole anyways." He looked away and tried to formulate the words. "They didn't like the religion we used to have, they didn't like our names, they hated the language. They _hated_ us, but they needed us to work. They had a new planet that they needed to dump people on and they had an entire population to just throw at it." Corrban closed his eyes. "They said it was to protect a border, but I think it was because they hated our religion. I think my old family name was Cortez, but I'm really not sure."

Skyler rubbed over his hand and sighed. "Sounds like you had a fight and a half."

"I did," Corrban quietly said. He looked down and pulled a few threads out of the couch cover. "I enlisted in the first Navy drive that I could to get out of there. Bout got my leg blown off of on Alcis and I was listed as dead on Tjinimin. Course, I wasn't dead, but I wasn't going to correct that computer foul up. I got some back pay and left that place."

Sheyvan leaned over and kissed the top of Corrban's shaved head. "You know, you're free from that now. You can call yourself Tobias Cortez if you want too. I really don't care what you call yourself, just as long as you come to dinner."

Corrban curled up between Sheyvan and Skyler. Han curled into his lap, running his hands over Corrban's shirt. Corrban kissed him on the forehead and held him close. Han was small, almost too tiny against him. Corrban offered him a few cookies, but the boy only nibbled on them. He could feel Han's ribs. That wasn't good. but there was no way for him to fix that now. The boy didn't seem to want to eat much of anything and Corrban didn't know if he had a food issue or there was an allergy. Maybe he needed to see one of those teledoctors or something like that. Han was his responsibility. He needed to feed the boy, but that would only work if Han wanted to eat. He couldn't just poke food down Han's gullet and hope for the best.

"I think I want to know about my people," Corrban quietly said. "What we were, what they hid from us... something tells me that we weren't a bunch of backwards savages throwing people off of rickety stone buildings."

Corrban looked away. There was nothing he could do about it, though. His people were dead and gone. They had faded away like the mist on a hot day. He wished he could have actually known about his people that wasn't a bunch of washed up claptrap regurgitated by people who hated him and his people. Corrban settled back into the warm nest he'd gotten. He had the feeling that this mission was going to be interesting and a part of him was ready for it.

The other part of him, the sane part, really hoped that he was wrong.


	10. Chapter 10

Corrban hated being bored in space. There just wasn't much he could do and he had read all the books that he had bought or stolen from recycling bins. Some of them had gone right back to the trash bin, but the rest he kept. He had books from half a dozen planets and holos from all sorts of places. He very rarely carried the books with him, as they were fragile and old, but he didn't have many places to store his things. He was a poor spacer - he had very few places to store things. He'd never had money before, not like Sheyvan did. He needed to find his books from the place where he had stashed them, deep in an urban stable on Ty'mian. He had earned that favor after he had found a half wild stallion that had been stolen.

Sheyvan pressed close to him, one hand on Corrban's back. He seemed to like the dark hair and Corrban's dark eyes. Maybe that was because his dark brown eyes, so dark they were nearly black, closely mirrored Sheyvan's own. Sheyvan stroked through Corrban's head, humming softly. He seemed to enjoy this, enjoy the fact that he was getting to hold Corrban and Corrban wasn't going to get up anytime soon. He had his water, he had his lemon, and he had a nice, warm blanket. He had Sheyvan to keep him warm and he had Skyler to make snarky comments about the movie. Han had already passed out, his little belly filled with good food. It was warm and nice, just everything that he wanted.

Skyler threw a handful of popcorn at the movie. "Come _on_ , you stupid idiot! Don't go in the burning building! The lady ain't even in there!" He threw another piece of popcorn at the shimmering image. "I dunno what you see in that lady. She's a cheap, stupid hooker who's going to rob you blind!"

Sheyvan ruffled Skyler's hair and laughed softly. "It's just a movie, my dear. She's just an actor playing a role, even though I will admit that she is a little bit annoying." He snatched some of the popcorn and dodged the half-hearted swipe. "She's going to get murdered in the next scene. Brutally. Buckets and buckets of fake ketchup blood going everywhere - "

"I don't want to see that," Skyler softly said. He suddenly went very still and very quiet. "I don't want to see blood, fake or otherwise."

"Thanks for telling me," Sheyvan replied. He brushed a kiss over Skyler's hand and pressed the fast forward button on his comm. Corrban ignored most of it. He was sleepy and warm. He felt safe - felt wanted. Sheyvan might have been a bit of a swindler, but he hadn't done anything to hurt him. Not ever, not when Corrban had been young and had his family. Sheyvan brushed another kiss over Skyler's knuckles and smiled again. "If anything ever bothers you like that again, just tell me. No one's gonna get angry with you."

Skyler muttered some and curled up on the couch. He seemed to enjoy the popcorn and Corrban did, too. He reached his hand down, nibbling on some of the warm, buttery treat. He thought that it went better with caramel, but that was just him. They watched the movie in a companionable silence until Sheyvan pressed a kiss against Corrban's cheek. Corrban kissed him back. He crawled into Sheyvan's lap, pawing at his button up shirt until the thing slowly came open. Sheyvan smiled and pressed his big hands against Corrban's back, just the way he liked it. He moved his legs apart, pressing more kisses against Skeyvan's neck. He loved the salty, sweet taste of his skin, the way he hummed when Corrban nibbled all over him.

Corrban stripped off of his shirt and straddled Sheyvan's lap. He ran his hand through Sheyvan's soft hair, groaning softly when the other man stroked his chest and tweaked his nipples. This felt good. He loved it when Sheyvan kissed him there, when his stubble. Stars above, but it felt good. He groaned softly and arched his back. He kissed Corrban deeper and allowed the other man's rough, probing fingers to touch his most delicate parts. He didn't know where the oil was, he didn't know what anything was going to do, but it just felt good. He felt Skyler kiss him and he knew that there was someone saying something. Skeyvan turned Corrban around and helped take his very interested dick out of his loose, soft trousers.

Corrban groaned. He didn't move, not as Skyler kissed his way down the other man's navel and took Corrban's cock into his mouth. Corrban was usually the one giving these things, not taking them, and this was an entirely new experience for him. He tried to move his legs, but Sheyvan stopped him. He needed to be still. He couldn't move his hips as Skyler did things with his tongue that made him want to cry out. The feeling, the pressure, all of it - he wanted it to be over and for this to never stop. Skyler took him to the root and grazed him with just the right amount of teeth. He tried to reach out, but Sheyvsn caught him and forced him to hold still.

"Easy, sweetheart," Sheyvan whispered. His big, rough hands wandered across Corrban's chest, finding all of the places that made him groan. Sheyvan kissed him again, deeper this time. "You don't want to choke him, do you. Not that there would be enough to choke him with."

Corrban went bright red and the shame he was feeling went straight to his cock. He groaned softly, wishing that he could do something - anything - to make this last forever. He wanted it to never stop. He wanted to feel more, wanted to have something that would never go away. He threw his back back and tried to arch his hips. He was close - maybe too close - and too beyond words to let Skyler know. He came with a cry and arched his body up as much as Sheyvan would allow. The bigger man held him through it, whispering sweet words and sprinkling soft kisses on his ears. Corrban only turned his head. He whimpered some, let Skyler clean off his over-heated, oversensitive skin, and tried to get enough breath back to speak.

Skyler kissed Sheyvan's hands this time. "I think we broke him."

Sheyvan just smiled and pulled Skyler to where he could cuddle with the both of them. "I don't think so. He's just a little overwhelmed, that's all. He can rest here until he feels like moving and then we can see about real food."

Corrban smiled softly. Was this what it felt like to be loved, to be wanted? If so, he never wanted to give it up. Not even in a million years.


	11. Chapter 11

Corrban woke up, sandwiched between Skyler and Sheyvan. He glanced over, seeing if he knew where Han was, but he lowered his head back against the pillows. He was very tired and he really didn't know how he had gotten in the bed. He didn't mind that he was wedged into that little area. It was warm, though, and Corrban loved warm. He had had a hard time keeping warm when he was back on his home world. Centeotl had been destroyed in the ultimately hopeless quest for a space ship quality bio-fuel. The atmosphere had thinned and cool, low lying clouds were the norm. Corrban had heard that his planet had once been the crown jewel of the system, but now it was nothing more than a mudball covered in toxic cornfields.

Those cornfields were a politician's wet dream. Someone always wanted to try to salvage that genetic monstrosity and they just worked his people over more. Corrban had left as soon as he could, even though he was supposed to be bound to the land. It hadn't been fair, but nothing was fair. The new American empire had a way of ripping the people it saw as lesser apart. Then they rendered the bits into something they considered useful. It had happened thousands of times before - first the American empire had wiped out Native peoples and then they had imported slaves from half a planet away. That had been the actions of a vicious infant empire and it was their god-king that made them nastier.

Corrban rolled over and kissed Sheyvan's cheek. "Did I ever tell you about Runner Nellin?"

"Never heard of him," Sheyvan yawned. He looped an arm over Corrban's head and stroked his face. "You have a beautiful face, do you know that? Like one of the moon gods my father used to tell me about." He smiled softly and kissed Corrban's lips, as soft and gentle as a butterfly's wings. "He always said that the moon gods waxed and waned as they gave our powers. We're the people of the moon, you see, and the moon gods loved us so much that they took power from the star goddesses to give to us."

"It sounds beautiful," Corrban whispered. He picked himself up and shook his head. "Runner Nellin was one of the men who owned land on Centeotl. He... His family owned my family. We were... they called us serfs, but I think we were really slaves." He closed his eyes and tried to keep himself calm. "He was very cruel and I think he was related to the Imperial family. Directly related to the Messiah himself. I think it might even be legit instead of one of the few bastard children he didn't have aborted before he outlawed it." Corrban growled softly and gripped the blankets. "He was the cruelest bastard that ever lived. I think he took great joy in just being awful to us."

"I'm sorry," Sheyvan whispered. He held Corrban close to his chest and stroked through his hair. "I'm so sorry that happened to you. I wish there was some way we could turn back time and maybe make things better."

Skyler yawned and grabbed at Corrban's hand. "Did you have bad dreams again? You wouldn't stop hollering until we swaddled you like a little kitten. Then you went to sleep just like a little Catin kit." He smiled and pressed a kiss to Corrban and then Han. "You looked real cute when you were curled up with Han. It took the both of us to get you into bed." He rolled over on his belly and kissed Sheyvan softly. "We need to clean this wreck up. Sitting around in this dirty, dusty thing can't be good for any of us and I think it would be fun if we started to clean this up." He rolled over and ruffled up Sheyvan's hair. He looked sleepy now, like he was adorable instead of the man he really was. "That means we all need to get up. All of us."

Corrban yawned, but he got up slowly. He liked sleeping in, but Skyler had a point. He just didn't like cleaning very much. Still, though, he didn't know the last time that the _Devil's Bastard Son_ had been deep cleaned. It would do good to get rid of the dust bunnies and the zero g spiderwebs. Corrban wondered if anyone had ever bothered to take a picture of those crazy things - they looked like a wild ball of crazy lace. Like something that had been made by the gods of ice and snow, even if those gods had come from other places. He wanted to pick one up and look it over, even though he knew it was just as fragile as a piece of fragile, antique thread. So beautiful, yet it would shatter into a thousand pieces if he touched it.

Skyler greeted him as soon as he was done. "I made coffee. And we're going to install a hydroponic garden, so I suggest you move out of that little alcove you call a room and we can put the garden in there. And we're gonna have to do something with Han - it's not healthy for him to eat himself into a food coma every night. That's going to kill his heart."

"You know that's going to break his heart," Corrban slowly said.

"When I was a free man, I used to study nutrition," Skyler replied. He grabbed the tablet and looked it over. "We need to eat less meat - I know no one is going to like that - and the hydroponics would give us fresh vegetables and even fresh fish. It's been awhile since I've studied nutritional science, but I know we can work something out. Han's never had fresh food before, so it might make him really sick if we let him eat as much as he wants. It could even kill him if he ruptures something." He looked around and finally sat on the counter. "I love him, you know. I... I liked him before all of this, but I never thought that I could get close to him like this. It wasn't safe."

"It's safe here," Corrban promised. He glanced over and grinned when he saw the mostly cleaned living area of the ship. It was nice to have a sweeper droid to do the heavy lifting. "I'll make breakfast. How does eggs and a little bacon sound?"

"I like it." Skyler gave him one of his beautiful smiles. "We can't always be good, you know."

"You keep that up..." Corrban saluted and walked back into the galley. He needed to think about breakfast, not sexy fun times.


	12. Chapter 12

Corrban wasn't quite sure what he would do with the new bed he was expected to share, but he was willing to try it. He got very cold when he slept and preferred to be swaddled up in multiple blankets or pressed up against someone who was much warmer. Sheyvan ran warm and Skyler was about the same, so he figured that he would stay warm enough. He liked to keep a little water with him, something that hadn't always been allowed. Corrban liked his water with lemon, but he didn't know if Sheyvan would let him. He stashed what few things he had under the bed before glancing at the closet. He only had a few things to wear and he probably needed a little bit more to wear.

Someone was talking and he paused behind the hall. Corrban was always like that - he needed to know what other people were saying, even if he knew it was a bad idea. That was how he had learned that Nellin was going to sell him to a brothel on Terra. Corrban didn't want to think about what could have happened to him - most of the people who stayed on Terra were filthy rich and many of them had some nasty tastes. He had had to escape. He'd done it, even though he had nearly starved in the belly of that freighter. Corrban had lost his virginity to one of the spacers - he had been a gentle man, for a Kai, and he had made sure that Corrban had enough food to eat and clothes to wear.

"You don't need to shame him about his dick," Skyler softly said. "He's already insecure about himself as it is - the last thing you need to do is make it worse. He changed his eye color, he bleached his hair, hell, he even changed his _name_! You talking nasty about his dick is going to make it a thousand times worse! I like him - he's a nice man and he likes Han."

"That's why you like him? He likes the kid?" Sheyvan drawled. He must have sat down, because his voice sounded heavier. "You don't know him like I do. He's an - Skyler, he's an asshole. He gets off on being an asshole to others. I knew him when he was younger and he picked a fight with everything that moves. He fights like a wild man and there's a reason why he doesn't have a crew." He was probably rolling his eyes and smirking as he started giving out more verbal poison. "He fights like a caged ice tiger if he's drunk enough. I know him a hell of a lot better than you do, Skyler, and just because he bought you from Jalari doesn't mean that he likes you. I like him, but he's hard."

Corrban shoved his fist in his mouth and tried not to scream. He wanted to punch Sheyvan in the face, wanted to tell him that he wasn't a caged tiger anymore. He wasn't that young anymore. There was a little grey in his hair now and he had a few more lines in his face - he wasn't beautiful like he had once been. His body had lost the suppleness of youth - he was corded, lean muscle under just a little bit of fat now. He knew that he wasn't pretty, especially with his dark hair and his black eyes. He wasn't the slight, lithe boys that most of the galaxy found beautiful. That was Han and he had suffered for that obsession. Corrban looked too hard and he had too many scars to really be that pretty.

He had to say something. He couldn't just let the others trash his honor like that. Maybe he had fought like a captured tiger, but he was older now. He was a little bit calmer now. Corrban just narrowed his eyes and tried to keep himself that much calmer. He was tired, he was angry, and he wanted to punch Sheyvan in the face. He had grown up a serf, which was basically a slave, and he had had to fight for every little thing. He was good at it, too.

"Why did you say that about me?" Corrban softly said. He walked around the corner and glared at a suddenly started Sheyvan. "Why the hell did you call me a tiger?! I'm not a stupid animal - I'm a man! I fought to be called a man and I'll die before I let you talk down to me like that. Do I need to kick your ass again?"

"You aren't that young," Sheyvan softly said. "I've got eight inches and a hundred pounds on you. I don't think you can take me anymore."

"You wanna bet?" Corrban knew that he would get his ass kicked - he didn't like fighting anymore - but he would make Sheyvan hurt. Then a horrid thought struck the man. This was his home. He didn't want to lose his home, not after he was used to just drifting around. Corrban glanced up and gave Sheyvan a wry smile. "Maybe a fight wouldn't be the best idea after all."

"And cooler heads prevail," Skyler drawled. He got up and pulled Corrban into a hug. He was strong and he smelled good - like warmth and home and that special scent that was all Skyler. "For the record, I wanted Sheyvan to stop saying that sort of thing. It's not good for you or him." He paused and turned his head, giving Sheyvan what had to be the mother of all dirty looks. "I'm gonna make a new rule - no more of this negative talk. We have to make this work and the last thing we need is to snipe at each other. No pissing in each other's proverbial coffee, alright?"

Corrban smiled and leaned into Skyler. The man was warm and strong, like he was made to be held and curled up with. Skyler took him back to their new rooms. He slowly undressed Corrban, trailing over the other man's body with his gentle, long fingers. He kissed over every single one of Corrban's scars as he eased him back against the bed and Corrban told him the story behind every scar. The ones that had been given to him by free men, when he was stabbed by a pirate, the time he was trapped in a wrecked ship for a week, all of that. The place where he still had metal under his skin - part of the _Sunset_ was embedded in his body and would be there forever.

"You're beautiful," Skyler whispered. He pressed a kiss against Corrban's throat and just lay there - skin to skin. Like there was nothing in the galaxy except the two of them. "So beautiful. Like the stars in the sky, you know."

"You're not so bad yourself." Corrban kissed him back slowly and just lay there. "I've never had this before, you know. Never even thought that I would get to do this. This was something that rich kids did in the movies, not something that people like me got to do." He turned away and traced the pattern sewn into the blanket. He thought it was called stars and bars, but he wasn't sure. "Sometimes, I like to think that I'm gonna go home and change things, but I could never do that. Technically, I still belong to them."

"Slave of a slave - how utterly appropriate for my life," Skyler laughed. He mouthed a few kisses against Corrban's shoulders, sadness crossing his face. "I should be in medical school, you know. My people - I'm Cy'maagi - we're healers. To us, medicine is as natural as breathing and I dreamed that I would take those skills to people who needed them."

"Like Centeotl." Corrban lowered his gaze. "Cholera and typhus. They kill."

"Eradicated in the rest of the galaxy," Skyler quietly said. He pulled Corrban against his chest and stroked through his darkening hair. "I think I could learn to love you, you know. You're brave and kind and a little bit of an asshole. My knight in crumpled tinfoil, fighting off a raging dragon with a blaster and a wild horse. I saw that in a movie once."

"I think I love you." Corrban kissed Skyler deeply and held him. The rest of the galaxy could go to hell for all he cared - he just wanted to have time with Skyler.


	13. Chapter 13

They were supposed to be headed to Akylia but Corrban couldn't care less if they got there or not. He had something that he had wanted for a long time - he had a _family_. The children of serfs were more or less raised communally and everything was done to please the lord of the manor. Some of them liked little girls. Others liked young boys or the older, rugged men who had worked for years and were all lean muscle. Nellin, from what Corrban could remember, had liked neither. He hadn't been married and most of his interest in the estate had been financial. Corrban didn't like to think about it, but he had probably been the closest thing Nellin had ever had to a lover.

He supposed that he understood why - Corrban had had soulful, dark brown eyes and tousled black hair. He had been slight, but not slight like Han was. His slightness had been caused by hard work and not enough to eat. Nellin had never feared him and he seemed to enjoy that Corrban had both been scared and a virgin. His first time hadn't been awful, as first times went. He hadn't bled and he hadn't been held down. Corrban still didn't _enjoy_ it, per say, but he figured it was better than being fucked bloody by a man that could have replaced him in seconds. It did make him a bit more careful with how he treated Han, though. He knew what it felt like to be used and abused by a man one trusted.

Han curled up in his arms, nuzzling over Corrban's shoulder. His hair had been bleached - brown roots were starting to show and he was no longer so thin. Only his bright blue eyes were the same and they were tightly closed. Corrban slowly stroked Han's back as they relaxed back into the tub. He didn't deserve this. Some of Sheyvan's little rant had been justified. Corrban had fought like a hell cat when he was younger and he still bore the scars. Han deserved someone better, someone younger, someone who would have been good enough to shove Han away. Yet, Corrban was none of those things and he was glorying in the soft kitten kisses and the quiet looks.

"So beautiful," Corrban whispered. He pressed another kiss to Han's cheek, his eyes dark. "Someone feels like they're happy to see me. Can I touch you there, sweetheart?"

Han nodded and closed his eyes. "I'll be good," he breathed. "I promise."

"I know, sweetheart." Corrban kissed him and quietly stroked Han's cock. Han was a bit smaller than average, but he was so beautifully responsive. He sighed softly and arched his back, his face going lax with pleasure. "That's so good for me, little one. You're doing so well. I want to hear you, so don't hold back. You're doing so well for me."

He leaned over and flicked his tongue across one pert nipple. Han made a soft whining sound and jerked up. Corrban took that as a sign that he was doing a good thing and leaned down, slowly licking across the younger man's chest. Han made the most beautiful sounds. He clawed at Corrban's hair and seemed to miss what was going on. Corrban quietly eased him over the edge, kissing him all over. Han sighed softly and arched his back. He gave Corrban a quiet, loopy smile as he pressed close to Corrban. Corrban squirmed some - Han's ass was right over his own dick and he was having a hard time thinking. Corrban sighed softly, holding the younger man close to him.

"You're so good for me," Corrban whispered. He kissed Han's cheeks, his big hands all over the smaller man's back. He liked how soft the water made his skin and shy and sweet Han's smile was. Corrban growled softly and nipped Han's ear. "Want to be good for me again, sweetheart? Wanna give me a little bit of what I gave you, huh?"

Han ducked his head, a cheeky smile crossing his features. He didn't move for one long minute, his hands lingering over Corrban's bare chest. He seemed shy, like he didn't know what Corrban wanted to do. Corrban covered his face with kisses, trying to coax him into exploring their bodies. Han seemed to be so shy and scared of him. Like he was afraid that he would do something wrong. Corrban tried to kiss him, tried to make him feel like he was doing the right thing. Han had no idea what he liked and he was afraid of what might happen. Corrban didn't know if Han had been punished for not reading into what other men liked. He sighed and eased Han off of him.

"Want to rest in the bed now?" Corrban sighed. He could deal with his own problems later and he sighed. He helped Han out of the bath and dried the younger man off. "I promise you're good, Han. I promise."

Han nodded slowly and curled up in Corrban's arms. Corrban couldn't help but wonder if that was what he had looked like with Nellin. He wouldn't have been as pretty as Han was, his features rougher and darker, but he knew that he had been scared. He knew he had acted a little like Han and Nellin had just pushed right into him. The man had been so big and Corrban had been so much smaller... He shuddered some and tried to go back to soothing the younger man. Han was so small against him. So fragile and so pretty. Corrban was afraid that he might break the younger man in two. He pressed a kiss between Han's shoulder blades and slowly started to massage the kinks out.

"You're not mad at me?" Han whispered. His voice was small and threadlike, like he was afraid of what Corrban might said.

"Of course not," Corrban sighed. He smiled and kissed Han again. "I've been blueballed before. I don't want to hurt you, though, and you're worth more than me getting a little uncomfortable." He kissed Han's cheek and settled him back against the bed. "I think I could fall in love with you, you know. You and Sheyvan and Skyler."

Han smiled and kissed his nose. "I think I love you, too."

Corrban just held him close and smiled. He just wanted to stay close to him. This was better than he could even dream of.


	14. Chapter 14

Akylia was _cold_. Corrban hated getting cold. He had been much to cold when he was growing up - the smoke wasn't good for the corn plants and on Centeotl, corn was king. Of course, installing electric heating was beyond expensive and no one wanted to spend too much money on the serfs. Rhaegar, one of the prettier boys, had been taken off world and it was said that he went because it was warm. Corrban wondered what had happened to his old friend. He knew he would never know. It was a big galaxy and very few people from his homeworld were registered. Even if Regar was registered, Corrban knew it was a big galaxy. There just wasn't a way he was going to find the young man he had once loved.

The cold wind bit into his body. Corrban buried into Sheyvan's side as he looked around the big dock. It seemed oddly desolate, with only a few ships and even fewer people. The locals milling around the docks looked like they were ragged little things. Their blue skin was dulled with the dust and their long, black hair was ragged and matted. The ones that could work - were _allowed_ to work - worked in the lithium mines. Corrban didn't want to look at them. They all looked ragged and tired, but it was the young ones that broke his heart. It reminded him of what his home was, of how wrecked and destroyed his world was. Akylia had a wonderful past, but it was nothing more than a shell of its former self.

Sheyvan still used Akylian lithium in his reactor cores. It was the best in the galaxy.

Sheyvan looked at him as he leaned back against the rusted and worn tin wall. "You've got something on your mind, Tobias. I wish I could tell what it was, but maybe... maybe I could help you if I knew."

"I used to know someone, someone that I was in love with." Corrban looked away and rubbed his face. He was so cold and and hated having to talk about this, but he had too. "His name was Regar. I... He was the only natural blonde in my generation. He had eyes as dark as the moonless sky and he was the sweetest, kindest man I knew at the time. We feel in love and then he left. Or he was taken - maybe he was taken and I don't want to think about that." He looked away and sighed softly. "I loved him, but we were nothing to him."

"Like these people," Sheyvan quietly said. He sighed and pulled out a smoke. "Want one?"

"No thank you." Corrban settled beside him and watched as the local people milled around. He watched as an overladen and ragged looking train struggled up the hill. This one looked like it was about to collapse in on itself. It was still running on coal instead of solar or nuclear and that alone made Corrban uneasy. "Sheyvan, do you ever think about places like this? Little backwaters that get bashed around by all the powers that be in the galaxy. Little places that are owned by bigger places and then when all the resources are scooped up... they just leave. No roads, no schools, no nothing. Just a bunch of ragged little kids and half starved adults running around."

"You know that the galaxy isn't fair." Sheyvan kissed the top of his head and watched as bone thin stray dogs scavenged around. "I really don't like that we're stealing a castle from this place, but we gotta eat. You... maybe you fell in love, but you gotta move on. You were younger then, Corrban. There was nothing you could have done."

Corrban knew. He rested his hand on the battered metal wall. He wanted to scream, to snarl, to say _something_. He was so tired, so tired of everything that had happened to him. Corrban's people had been destroyed hundreds of years before. All he had left was the scraps and, while he clung to them fiercely, it still galled him that the art his ancestors made was either destroyed or locked up. His people had sung the song of the conqueror's in their cheap and plastic churches, but they had sang the songs of their ancestors at home. Corrban's hands curled into a fist. He wanted to do something - _anything_ \- to maybe set things right. He hadn't ever thought that he was the revolutionary sort, but he hadn't ever thought that he had anything to fight for.

Regar was a reason to fight. Regar and every other pretty boy that was snatched up by a cold and unforgiving galaxy.

One of the overseers walked over. He was a tall man, lanky, with dull blonde hair and a khaki, sharp looking suit. He had watery looking green eyes and he seemed to dislike the aliens that strayed from his past. It was like they were nothing but dust under his feet. The man sneered when he looked at Corrban. It was like he knew what world Corrban was from and what he had done to survive. Beside him, Sheyvan stiffened. Corrban ignored the other man and slowly grabbed his blaster. The weapon was an old thing. It had served him well over the years and it was going to serve him well now. Corrban drew the weapon and watched as the metal glittered in the dull light.

Then he held the weapon up and shot the man between the eyes.

Sheyvan yelled something, but Corrban saw red. He didn't care what might happen. He was just tired of things like this happening and there was a nasty part of him that just wanted to make it _stop_. Maybe it was his nasty past starting to catch up with him. Maybe he was just starting to go crazy. Corrban saw another three of them come running. They were the local guards and for a second, he thought they were the hired guards who stomped all over Centeotl. He saw their fancy looking uniforms - the brilliant colors against the dull and dusty planet, the feathers, and the flashing brass - and the way the crisp, white X made a really nice target. Corrban liked to think he was quite the shot.

He watched as they dropped and he stepped over the bodies. "Well. That was... an interesting experience. I don't think I've ever been that angry before."

"Corrban!" Sheyvan hissed. "What the hell was that about?!"

Corrban tucked the blaster back in his boot and stepped around the pooling blood. "Something I should have done back on Centeotl, Sheyvan. Maybe I should have done it then, but now I'm gonna do it."

There was just a part of him that had suffered too much and thinking about Regar had triggered that.


	15. Chapter 15

Corrban stormed into the cantina. The others, mostly other spacers, looked up and stepped away from him. There was an older man with salt and pepper black hair, sitting alone at the tale. He gave a dry smile when Corrban stormed in and raised his pint glass. It looked like he was drinking one of the dark beers Akylia was famous for and Corrban needed to get drunk. He sat on the table, skewering the man with his dark eyed gaze. The man laughed and threw back the rest of his drink. He raised his hand, his once olive skin bleached by years of living in space and hard work. There was something wild in his eyes, something just as dark as Corrban's. It was like they had seen the same things and Corrban wanted to grab him.

He leaned over, grabbed the man by the shoulders, and crushed their mouths together. He tasted like beer and cheap smokes, like a man who had been living on the edge for years. A part of Corrban wondered if they were from the same world. Centeotl hadn't exported many spacers, especially if they had darker skin, but it had been known to happen. Corrban bit the man, scratching at him with his stubby, broken nails. He hurt and he wanted to do something stupid. He pressed another kiss, biting the man hard enough to make his lips bleed. The man pulled back, his eyes dark and wild. There was something there that he wanted, some connection that might run deeper than sex.

" _I usually like to know the names of the men I kiss_."

Corrban blinked. He knew that language. He had heard that language from his parents, but it had been so long since he had used it... He shook his head, trying to get the Nahuatl to come back to him. " _I haven't... I haven't used this in a decade_."

The man shook his head as he settled Tobias against him. He felt strange - it was so rare for him to hear his mother tongue outside of Centeotl. A part of him wanted to get away from this man, to go running back to Sheyvan and Skyler, but he was tired. He wanted to do something stupid, to hurt himself and spare everyone else. The blatant injustice made him want to scream and rant and rail against the rest of the galaxy. Didn't they care? Didn't the people in the vast and shining cities, the cities that covered the entire planets - didn't they wonder about what happened to the little backwaters like Centeotl or Akylia? Didn't the people on Terra Firma wonder who slaved away to keep their little paradise running?

" _What's your name_?" the man asked. " _Matias Navarro was the name they dumped on me. Stupid bastards decided they wanted to call us demons and they destroyed what they didn't understand._ "

" _I'm Tobias_." Tobias curled up in Matias' lap and closed his eyes. He was drained and felt a little numb. " _At least you wear the name of one set of conquerors. I got saddled with the names from the second wave_." He sighed and tried to calm his racing heart. " _How did you leave_? _Did they let you leave or were... were you shipped out like me_?"

He never liked to talk about how he had left Centeotl. He lied to himself and others all the time - he had been shipped out like a sack of ethanol corn. He hadn't joined a crew because he wanted too. He had been forced to go, forced to leave everything he had ever known. Maybe he could have forced himself to settle down with a nice girl. In his village, Noemi had understood. She had known that he didn't want to be forced into the religion that was forced on him. He had watched as the colorful dresses had been replaced with drab denim and the colorful churches replaced with something dull and drab. Maybe if there had been more color - if the paintings hadn't been covered in whitewash and plaster - he might have stayed with the religion a little bit longer.

Matias shook his head and petted Tobias' hair. " _You know we don't want to talk about those bastards_."

That answered that question. Tobias knew what Matias wasn't saying and he just pressed a soft kiss against the man's lips. He wasn't trying to bite Matias right now, he just wanted to know a comfort that Sheyvan couldn't give him. Sheyvan couldn't speak his language. Why would he? It wasn't like that language was taught in school, despite the fact that it was older than the American Empire. They had wanted to destroy it - Tobias had had his mouth washed out with soap for speaking Nahuatl when he was forced into the schools. He wondered if Matias had suffered that indignity. They had wanted him to worship a hard, angry god that he was terrified of.

" _They're afraid of us_ ," Tobias quietly said. " _They have to be. They think... they think we're going to rape all their women and turn their 'pure' race into mud or something_." He turned away and glared. " _I hate them. I hate them so fucking much and I wish that planet had been burned up_."

" _That was our planet, too_." Matias shook his head and hummed softly. Tobias recognized the song. It was one of the old songs that had been banned by the evangelical leaders. Matias hummed a few more bars of the old song and shook his head. " _If that planet had been struck with an asteroid back in the 2040s, we would have all been killed. Or, well, our ancestors would have been. Either way, I would not have been pounced on by a man from my own planet_." He gave a rueful smile and pushed Tobias up. " _I can't be with you, little one. As much as I would love it, I'm married_."

" _I understand_." Tobias turned his head away and sighed softly.

He didn't want to watch Matias go. It was like he was watching a little piece of his culture walk away from him. It was so rare for him to hear Nahuatl that he wanted to keep Matias with him forever. He raised his hands and quietly took a beer from one of the passing waitresses. He hated drinking himself silly and he knew Skyler would be mad at him, but right now he just didn't care. Tobias had always had a little bit of a self destructive streak about him. There were times when he wanted to fight the entire galaxy. This was one of those times.

Tobias wanted to fight with the fury of an eagle knight, but he didn't know if he had enough strength in him.


	16. Chapter 16

Corrban didn't know how long he was in that bar, nor did he really care. He was going to get thoroughly drunk and leave his sorrows to drown in the shitty beer. He was angry. He was tired. He just wanted to not think for a good long time. It had been a long time since Corrban had killed a man, even though the first one was always said to be the worst. The man he had shot - that governor who had most likely done the locals badly - had probably deserved to die. Corrban didn't like to think that he was a killer, even if he had been hell on wheels as a younger man. He never liked to fly off the handle, but he knew that it happened. He was a man, just like everyone else around him.

He glanced up and then his blood ran cold. A tall man with moon pale skin and a shock of red hair waltzed into the bar like he owned the place, His boots looked to be made of expensive leather and his vest looked like the woven Kevlar that the most expensive bounty hunters wore. He had plate metal shin guards and arm guards that looked like they were made of the same material. Corrban tried to duck his head, but he was a little too drunk for that. He knew that man - had had nightmares about that man. He knew the stinking perfume the man wore. He knew the way Nellin walked and the smooth way he talked to everyone in that seedy little bar. He knew what Rusher Nellin could do and probably what he was looking for.

"It's been a long time." Nellin dropped down in the booth beside Corrban and tipped his head back. "You look rough, you know." He paused and shook his head sadly. "You know, if you wanted to see the galaxy..."

"Don't touch me!" Corrban shoved the man's hand off of his face and glared at him. He didn't know what else to do and the alcohol had dulled his senses. He just glared at Nellin and tried to calm his raging heart. "You took me away. You _sent me out_ like I was a sack of corn. Why should I feel anything for you? Why should I even want to see you again?"

"Because I gave you things that none of the others had," Nellin quietly said. He leaned down and cupped Corrban's cheek. "I taught you how to read and write. I took you out of that filthy mud pit you called a house. I cleaned you up, saw how pretty you were, and made you into something that you wouldn't have been otherwise." He smiled sadly and shook his head. "And you repaid me for all of my hard work by running away. You left me, high and dry, on a space station out in the middle of nowhere. I thought you actually _cared_."

"You are nothing to me," Corrban softly said. He tried to fight back all of the old memories - the quiet nights on the balcony, the roses, the food, and everything that Nellin had given him. "You hurt me, Nellin. You took something that I should have given someone else. I thought I loved you, but I didn't. I loved what you gave me, but I never loved _you_."

He didn't want to think about what Nellin had really done. He had been younger then and he had been willing to think that he was in love when he wasn't. Corrban just shook his head. He tried to ignore the rose colored memories of the past. Nellin had hurt him and he didn't want to think that was why he had been so wild as a younger man. Corrban tapped his feet against the sticky floor as he tried to think. It was true that Nellin had taught him how to read and write. He had even shown Corrban some of the art his ancestors had made and taught him how to read the some of the pictographs his ancestors had created. Nellin had even tried to teach him some of the Mixtec symbols, as those were apparently seen as better than the Nahuatl ones.

Nellin shook his head sadly. "We were both outsiders, you know. We could have made it together."

Corrban just looked at him. He didn't want to voice the thing that they both knew - that Nellin would have dropped Corrban for the first Baird, Barr, or Kusher woman that would have him. Nellin wanted nothing more than to be a member of that powerful Clan. And who wouldn't? That Clan owned several planets just like Centeotl - they were all ragged places used to generate profits. The people working those planets came from places that the American empire took over. The ones the Americans hated, they killed. Corrban had heard they had dropped a powerful nuclear weapon over a small planet, just because they still smarted over an attack that happened four hundred years ago.

"You wanted to go to Earth," Corrban quietly reminded him. "You wanted to move there."

"I tried that, it kinda sucked." Nellin rested back on the table and rested his booted feet on the worn, battered table. "They thought I was outer space trash, to quote them, and that I wasn't worthy to scrub the toilets they shat in."

Corrban got up. He was tired, he was half drunk, and the last thing he wanted to do was talk to a series of bad choices from his past. Nellin reached out to touch his hand. Corrban pulled his fist back and let it fly. Alcohol always made his aim a little bit sloppy, but right now he was pissed off enough to try and break the guy's nose. Nellin jerked away. Corrban stumbled down. He turned around and kicked the man square in the stomach. Nellin went down like a sack of wet concrete. Corrban kicked him again for good measure as he stumbled out of the bar. He needed to find Sheyvan or even Skyler. Maybe even Han. He needed to fuck his brains out or get in a fight and get his ass kicked.

Alcohol and his temper never really went together. He should have learned that years ago, but he always was a little dense,

Sheyvan found him as he staggered into the dockyard. Corrban knew that he reeked of alcohol. He looked awful - his eyes bloodshot and his lips a little swollen. He didn't know quite how much he had drank, but he knew it was more than he should have. Corrban grabbed the man's shirt. He wobbled on his feet some as he staggered back to the _Devil's Bastard Son_. He didn't want to tell Sheyvan about who he had found or why that man might matter later on. He was tired. He just wanted to fight with someone right now. Or maybe fuck. Right now, he didn't know if he was going to do both at once or if he was going to break into Sheyvan's stash of fancy wine.

Sheyvan grabbed his arm and looked at him like he was going crazy. "What has gotten into you?"

"I got drunk," Corrban replied. "I'm going to get so drunk that I pass out."

"There is a very fine line between passing out and death by alcohol poisoning and, since I like you, I'm going to keep you out of my booze," Sheyvan quickly said. He started dragging Corrban towards the ship, cursing as he did so. "Corrban, you know and I know that you really don't need to get shit faced. I don't know what's crawled up your ass since we got here, but I don't like it."

Corrban looked at him with clear eyes. "I hate injustice, that's what I hate. I hate that I had my ancestors taken away from me. I hate Rusher Nellin and sometimes I hate the rest of the universe."

"You're drunk and I'm going to dry you out if that's the thing I do," Sheyvan sighed. "And then you are not getting this drunk ever again."


	17. Chapter 17

Corrban looked over at the other two men, his eyes light for once. He felt better, like his wild night had managed to purge a few things from him. He hated getting into fights, but sometimes you had to do what you had to do. Corrban rested his head on Skyler's shoulders, stroking his hair with one shaking hand. A part of him hoped that he had hallucinated Nellin. That man was nothing but trouble, seeing as he had used to own Corrban. He might have treated him decently, compared to the way many slaves were treated, but Corrban still couldn't say no to sex. There had been times when Corrban didn't want sex that Nellin had forced it on him. He might have always tried to give Corrban pleasure, but that still didn't mean that Corrban wanted to be touched that way.

Skyler pressed a kiss against his cheek. "I've been told that you're no longer allowed alcohol," he murmured. Skyler shook his head, his dark eyes tired and saddened. "I really hope that you're not one of those types to get mean when you drink. I've suffered under that enough and I don't intend to let that happen to me again. I might love you, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to let you hurt me or Han."

"I'm sorry." Corrban looked down and rubbed his face. "I... I just had a bad day or two, okay?"

"That's still no excuse." Skyler got up and helped Corrban up, too. He pressed a quiet kiss against Corrban's cheek, stroking his black hair with gentle fingers. "You were whining about someone named Nellin. Is that anyone I need to know? Do you owe him money or is he just another asshole that you had the misfortune of running into at a bar?"

"I really don't want to talk about it," Corrban quietly said. He turned his head away, ignoring the way the man looked at him. "I really don't want to talk about it, Skyler."

"It's eating you up inside," Skyler murmured. He pressed a gentle kiss against Corrban's cheek, smiling some and stroking the stubble with one gentle hand. He must have seen the question in Corrban's eyes, because he gave Corrban a tired kiss. "I was treated with a laser to remove my body hair when I was first captured. The big carrier ships are breeding grounds for lice and gnats and all sorts of vermin and it was one of the ways they had to control the spread of disease. Not wipe out the disease, but it was a way of trying to cut things down. Our hair was treated to remove it temporarily and the rest of our body... they just destroyed the follicles."

"I know about the carriers," Corrban carefully said. He looked away, hoping that Skyler wasn't going to think less of him. "Rusher Nellin used to own me. When I was younger, I thought I loved him. He was... kind to me, for one of the upper caste. He was the one who showed me that I... well, I thought I needed to, wear those contacts and bleach my hair. So many things were open to me when they thought I was one of them."

"You changed that back for me," Skyler quietly said. "I wondered if you were one of those weird people that I would see at times. What did they call themselves? Punk? Eco-something or Ice Maidens. I just... I don't know what I thought you were."

Corrban nodded. He didn't want to look at Skyler right now. For all he knew, the man thought that he was stupid and weak because he had once been a slave. So many people thought that slaves were weak or something less than. Corrban knew all the things they said about freed slaves - that they were broken, that they were rabid animals, and that they had no place being freed. It was worse when one didn't gave skin that was as pale as the moon. Corrban's olive skin was often bleached by his time in space, so very few gave him a second glance. Skyler likely didn't have that option. He would always be marked as something other, something that just wasn't worth as much as the others were.

Corrban stripped off and got in the shower with Skyler. He washed Skyler's back and hair, ghosting his lips over the man's smooth, sweet skin. He loved the way Skyler taste, loved the slender muscles he had. Skyler kissed him back, stroking Corrban's cock and kissing down his neck. Corrban gasped softly, his eyes falling closed. He didn't want anything wild and aggressive - he just wanted to _feel_ , to _know_ the man that was kissing him right now. It was slow and gentle, the same way they always did it, and Skyler pressed him against the wall. Corrban rested his head against the other man, mouthing kisses down his shoulder. He loved the way Skyler smelled, the way the crisp clean scent of the water complimented Skyler's natural, beautiful scent.

He came quietly, gasping softly and pressing kisses Skyler's shoulder. After a few seconds, he dropped down and pressed kisses against Skyler's smooth belly. The skin there should have been covered with hair, but it was bare. They both had their scars - Skyler's smooth skin and the lash marks buried on Corrban's bath. Corrban looked up at him with almost reverent eyes as he lapped at the base of Skyler's cock. He looked up, asking for permission, and Skyler nodded. Corrban took him down slowly, burying his face against Skyler's groin. He never did realize why anyone hated to give blowjobs - he loved to watch how his partners gasped and whined with pleasure. He got to control how much pleasure his lovers had and how fast they came. 

To him, that was the best thing in the world.

Corrban didn't want to admit that he had a thing for oral. He just wasn't. He decided to not make Skyler suffer for to long, so he took Skyler down deeper and hummed around him before laving up and down the underside of Skyler's cock with his tongue. If he was being honest, he loved the way the man tasted. He loved the way Skyler groaned and tried to pull at his hair. Corrban pushed that away, pressing closer to him and using one of his special tongue tricks. Skyler yelped - actually _yelped_ \- and thrust his hips quickly. Corrban cleaned him up and nuzzled the other man before pulling him into a hug. Sometimes, everyone needed to be held after sex.

Skyler swallowed and looked at him with suddenly reverent dark eyes. "I think it's a good thing that the ship has a tankless water heater."

"Agreed." Corrban drew back from him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I think I need to apologize to Sheyvan for last night."

Skyler grumbled, pulling him close as they stepped out of the shower. "I want to get to know you better first."

Corrban agreed - getting to know Skyler and maybe even Han probably did need to come first.


	18. Chapter 18

Corrban curled up beside Skyler, tracing his chest and mouthing a kiss over his side. He just wanted to keep close to someone and he didn't quite know why. Akylia just had that effect on him, he thought. It was too much like his own home and too different for him to really be comfortable. There weren't any chants for him to join in, nor could he listen to tales of the ancient past. Corrban liked to think he was descended from an emperor, but if his luck held, he probably came from the traitors who were exiled across the sea. He nuzzled Skyler softly, his eyes fluttering closed. A part of him was rather bored, but he knew he needed to stay with the ship. If he tried to do too much too soon, he was going to lose his shit.

Again. 

Skyler rolled over and kissed the top of his head. "You look morose this morning." He smiled softly as he started to get up. "Is there anything I need to know? Anything you want to do today?"

"Exploring." Corrban got up and pulled his clothes back on. He brushed out his dark hair, checking out Skyler and slapping his ass. Skyler yelped and looked at him like he was crazy. Corrban laughed and smiled. "There should be some old temples up in the mountains. If we're going to move a castle, we might as well go exploring and probably get ourselves cursed." He shook his head, a wry smile crossing his face. "We used to watch a cartoon about someone who got blasted out of time. He went exploring on some planet and got himself cursed in ten thousand ways and wound up half dead in the bottom of a temple. I thought that it might be fun if we tried that in real life."

"You know that curses don't exist, right?" Skyler shook his head and grabbed his blaster. "That said, we really shouldn't be poking around in someone else's backyard. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a good way to get shot."

Corrban just smiled and blew a kiss at him as he left the bedroom. He kissed Han on the cheek, laughing as the boy blushed, and gave Sheyvan a kiss that was too deep to be chaste. He felt better, he thought. Maybe he had just needed to get the rot and sickness out of his system. It might not have been fun, but he had managed to do it. Corrban grabbed a piece of fruit bread on the way out and trotted down the gangplank. The world outside the _Devil's Bastard Son_ wasn't nearly as nice as he thought it should be - it was covered with dust and greyness and polluted water. The people gave him nasty looks when he hired the horses for himself and Skyler. The animals were tired, pitiful things, but they rode smoothly and did what he needed them too.

The mountains really hadn't been touched by the colonial expansion. They were carpeted with bright blue flowers and little pink ground covers and trickling brooks that were actually clean instead of choked with a dark orange scum or covered in a thin, rainbow colored sheen. There were trees here, strong and verdant instead of twisted and dying. Corrban thought that it was a beautiful place and a pale echo of what Akylia had looked like before she had been taken over. Here and there, he thought that he saw spotted wild cats or maybe a golden wild dog, but they were gone whenever he tried to look too hard. He tried to put the thoughts out of his mind. It would only piss him off and he wanted to keep himself calm.

Skyler stopped when they reached the base of one of the temples. It was a sprawling thing, made of weathered and worn stone, pitted from acid rain and smoke, but here and there, Corrban could see flecks of color. A sad smile crossed his face. It must have been beautiful once. He tied his horse to a tree and struggled up the cracked and broken steps. Colorful weeds and more of the bright blue flowers had dislodged the rocks. Tree roots had grown through the bases of the statues, toppling them and breaking things that had once been sacred. The windows in the temple had long since been shattered and greenery grew through them, turning the colorful glass into a thousand jewel-like shards embedded in the moss.

Skyler looked up at the cracked archway. "Do you think it's sound?"

"Nope." Corrban pushed at the rusted steel door, wincing as it scraped across something that looked like native marble. "That's part of what makes it fun. We get to be explorers, Skyler!"

Inside, the place was dead and hollow. Little scraps of paper had been left to rot where they lay and when Corrban picked it up, he couldn't read the lettering. There were pale places on the wall where it looked like artwork had been stolen and the benches had been turned over or scattered around. The entire place was empty, musty, and open like a grave. Corrban poked through one of the alcoves and shuttered when he found a skeleton. Going by the scorch marks that littered the bones, it had been killed when Akylia had first been taken. The Terran Empire didn't exactly take prisoners - whatever they wanted, they grabbed. They killed everything that got in their way.

It had happened with his ancestors. It had happened to Akylia and thousands of other planets, too.

Skyler covered another body with a moth eaten tapestry. "This is a grave, Corrban. We should... we should go. Find another place to snoop around in." He sighed and kissed Corrban's head. "I just don't feel comfortable here. People died in this little place and I think we should just let them have at it." He turned his head dark eyes saddened. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Corrban's bitter smile crossed his face and he shrugged. "You are right. We should go."

It was bittersweet, he thought, seeing the ruins of another civilization. In time, the ruins would be cleaned up and sanitized, tales about the savageness of the people made up or exaggerated, and the few Indigenous Akylians left would be forced to conform to a narrative set by the ones who destroyed their home. What had it been for? Money? Riches? A non-existent god that ordered blood and war to be fed to it? Corrban shook his head sadly. His home had been turned into a tourist trap, a place where wealthy Terrans went to thank their godhead that they had defeated his ancestors thousands of years ago. The same would happen to Akylia.

And, eventually enough, the Terran Empire. There was always another shark waiting. Corrban just hoped that he was around to see it and he could glory in the downfall of the people who enslaved him.

Skyler paused as their horses picked their way back down the slope. "Hey, Corrban?"

"Yes?" Corrban shifted in his saddle some.

"I think we're being watched," Skyler murmured.

Skyler grimaced and was about to say something more, but that was when a stunner bolt flew out of the brush and struck Corrban. His last conscious thought was to wonder if he already knew who had attacked him and why Nellin did it.


	19. Chapter 19

Corrban woke up up slowly, the metal cold under his cheek. He pushed himself up after a moment, his eyes fluttering open. Corrban looked around the room through his lashes. He couldn't see much, as the hold was dark and still, but something still filled him with dread. Something told him that he hadn't been picked up for forgetting a parking ticket. Anyone who wanted him like this wouldn't have bothered knocking. They would have stunned him, just like this idiot had. Corrban had an idea of who had done that, but he just wanted to make sure. The drugs made his bones feel like they were made of lead, but he picked himself up anyways. Corrban had managed to get himself braced against the wall, leaning his head against the cold metal.

Footsteps rang through the cold, empty hold. Corrban braced himself a little bit better. He didn't have a way to defend himself, but that didn't mean that he wanted to take any of this sitting down. He grabbed one of the metal pipes, trying to keep himself from slumping down against the ship's hide. He didn't know where he was, but everything told him that things weren't going to go his way. Corrban closed his eyes. He leaned his cheek against the metal once again, wincing as the lights were powered on. He knew this was Nellin. No one else hated him this much, no one else wanted to keep him caged up like he had once been. Sure, Corrban had slept with some people he shouldn't have - Prince Ariel came to mind - but none of them had wanted to kill him.

Yet.

Rusher Nellin gripped his chin and forced Corrban to look at him. "Hello, Tobias."

"Go to hell." Corrban lolled his head away, tying to ignore the man. He wanted to get off this ship, but going from the engines, it was in orbit. His heart hurt. "Sh-Sheyvan? Damn it! I want off this ship, Nellin! Let me go or there is going to be hell to pay! I have a job, I have a ship, I have a life! I want a _dog_! I don't want to be on this ship as your love slave!"

Actually, love slave wasn't the word that Corrban wanted to use, but the drugs froze his tongue. He trued to bite the man, but he was too slow and Nellin just laughed. He kissed Corrban slowly and sensually, pushing him back against the metal. Corrban tried to claw at Nellin. He didn't use Tobias for a reason - that was the name that Nellin had overused. He had tainted that pretty name, took away the name that had once been Tohias. Nellin, of course, was still American, evem if he wasn't born in that accursed country. He didn't want to use the words from Tobias' native language. Nellin was whispering the bastardized name now, pressing kisses that felt like hot brands on his overheated skin.

Corrban wanted the man _gone_. He clawed at Nellin with weak, ineffective hands. It seemed like there was nothing he could do. Corrban didn't want this, though. He tried his best and tried to struggle away, but Nellin just laughed and scooped him up like he was made of spun glass. The worst part came when Corrban seemed to melt into the man's touches. He wanted to struggle away, but Nellin was warm and strong. His body was softer now, soft like he had never worked a day in his life. His skin was soft where Corrban's was still hard. Corrban felt that skin ghost over his body as he was undressed. Nellin acted like he was unwrapping some kind of beautiful gift, not a body that he had ravished hundreds of times.

The drugs dulled things. It made it easier for Corrban to block out what was happening to him and he could simply close his eyes. Some part of him wanted to believe that it was Skyler who was worshiping his body, but the touches and words were all wrong. Corrban dreaded what happened when the drugs wore off. He had been sedated like this before, but he didn't know how long he'd been out for. He could have this reprieve for hours, maybe, or maybe a few minutes. Corrban never knew how his luck was going to hold and he feared that things would start to wear off soon. He wanted to kick at Nellin, to force him away, but his muscles just didn't work that way anymore.

"Get _off_ of me," Corrban whispered. "I don't want you on me!"

"I don't have too," Nellin whispered. He pressed a line of kisses down Corrban's side, a smile playing on his face. "I don't want to remind you, but I took you off the mud hole you used to call a home. I gave you things that the people you lived with could only dream of. Why would I let you rot on that tired little ship with those boring people? I gave you a life, I gave you a purpose, I taught you how to to love."

"You took me from my _family_ ," Corrban hissed.

"For all I know, we're brothers." Nellin stood up and tossed a cloth at a still numb Corrban. He gave the man a dry smile, his eyes flashing in the low light. "Your people don't marry. Well, not according to the Church, you don't. You worshiped murderous sun priests before we civilized you and then you prayed to the whore of Babylon." He grabbed his own clothes and laughed as Corrban struggled to clean himself up. "I'm pretty sure that you weren't living with your original issue parents. You might as well be a bastard for all we care."

Corrban didn't know as much about American Imperial history as he probably should, but he was pretty sure that the first emperor had been married four times, slept with porn stars, and had several children out of wedlock. He wondered if that made the emperor just as much a sinner as his parents. Of course, he knew better than to ask that question. Rules for thee an not for me and all that shit. Corrban hated the man, but there was nothing he could do. He was tired, his body hurt, and he had no way to get off this hell ship. Corrban made himself look smaller as he got up. He limped to the bathroom, trying to ignore the way the bile rose in his throat.

"I'm going to kill you," Corrban whispered. He paused as he pulled his pants up, his fingers still numb from the drugs. "I'm going to kill you, Rusher Nellin, and there is nothing you can do to stop it."

Corrban washed his face off. He didn't recognize the face that stared back at him. He looked haggard and thin, his eyes dark with rage. Corrban smiled darkly. He wasn't the scared little boy he had once been. He had learned to kill, had learned to use the knife like it was poetry in his hands. Nellin was making the mistake that he was still the scared little boy that he had once been, not the man that he was now. Corrban had learned to kill. He could play the game with Nellin, wait until his guard drop, and then see if imperial scum bled the same color that everyone else did.

He just hoped that Sheyvan, Han, and Skyler would forgive him.


	20. Chapter 20

Corrban smiled coldly when he walked out of Nellin's ship. Why the man thought he should go back to Centeotl, Corrban didn't know. He hated the way that Nellin had done him up, though. The clothing was thin and filmy and it clung to his body in all the wrong places. Nellin had decked him out with a thin gold plated collar and reopened the long since healed piercings in Corrban's ears. His hair had been braided in a strange way and he wore a thin, glittering belt. It would be perfect if he tried to strangle the man, not that he would plan to do it. Corrban wanted to use Nellin's own knife to take his heart out of his chest. It would only take a few minutes for the man to die, not like the hours it would take for a man like him to die, but it would feel like revenge.

The wind tasted bitter on his lips. All Corrban could see was the rows of low, stone housing that offered some protection from the elements and corn. So much corn. The hills behind the space port were covered in the sort of dark, unnatural verdant shade that came with the bio-fuel that was grown here. Corrban shuddered when he saw the massive, nasty looking dogs that prowled through the place. They were called the Molossus and they were massive, dark colored dogs with lighter stripes and cropped ears. They had a deep bark and fangs that could tear the flesh from bones. The thin, small sight hounds that the other Nahua kept wouldn't stand a chance against those beasts.

Nellin tapped his side and one of the beasts trotted to his side. "Heel, Niko. And watch him, please."

Corrban shuddered as the dog looked at him. The animal seemed to be plotting the best way to attack him and maybe eat him. He had to find a way to neutralize that dog before it tried to attack him or something. He had seen the way those beasts could attack someone. Lokadi had just _looked_ at the master the wrong way and the dog had sprang on him. Before Corrban could do anything, Lokadi had been bleeding out on the street. Corrban didn't want to deal with the big dog and he had the feeling that Nellin liked the dog more than him. He wondered just how much face the man had lost from his little escape. The Americans never did like it when one of their slaves ran off. Those dogs weren't for show, either.

No one really paid any attention to him. There were plenty of Americans, most of them with their own slaves or dogs, and none of them paid much attention to Nellin. That was quite understandable. Places like Centeotl were where the elite dumped their bastard kids or where men like Nellin made their fortunes. Large swathes of Terra Firma were rendered uninhabitable by centuries of exploitation and what was left belonged to the poorest of the poor or the most wealthy. The fact that Nellin owned property on that planet, even if it was just a crummy little apartment in the city, meant that he was quite wealthy. The fact that he could take his slave there meant that he was one of the more wealthy men on the planet.

Of course, he also didn't have the right name so that meant that he was less than nothing.

"You know they don't like you," Corrban purred. He knelt beside the man in the lev-car and cocked his head a little bit. "You're not a Trump, a Baird, a Pence, or a Barrett. You're just a Nellin and that's a name that came from Mera. I'm pretty sure you remember the war America had with Mera and how much it fell into a stalemate. I don't know what you're thinking you can buy with all your money, because they're never going to like you."

"Just shut up." Nellin glared at him and kicked at the kneeling man. Niko got to sit beside him on the leather. Nellin just shook his head after his moment. "You really are something else. I don't know where you got that mouth on you. I liked it when you were kinder."

"It's called being free," Corrban hissed."You should try it sometime."

He didn't say much else, watching what he could of the scenery. He hated this planet. It held too many memories, too much pain for him to really be comfortable there. Nellin had himself a nice little place on the outskirts of town. Calling it "little" was the understatement of the century, too. It was one of the largest places on Ceteotl and it was stuffed full of all sorts of treasures from Terra Firma and even the earlier Moon colony. There were more than enough riches there to free the entire colony, but there wasn't any chance of that happening. Nellin liked to horde his little treasures and just look at them instead of using the cash for something good.

Nellin pulled the lev-car up to the house. A woman greeted him, her blue eyes as cold as the new ice, and she barely even paid attention to Corrban. Going by the way she greeted him - with a chaste kiss to his cheek and his quick way of hugging her - Corrban was pretty sure that she was his wife. He winced a little. From what he knew, most women didn't like it when their husband started sleeping with one of the slaves. There was a little girl who ran to greet them and Nellin picked her up and swung her around. She shrieked with joy, her blue eyes bright and her skin as pale as the four moons. Corrban winced once again. When he was that age, he had already been picking the rocks from the fields.

The woman turned to him. "My name is Tessa Nellin. I wasn't told that he would be bringing someone like... _you_ back. Tell me your name if you have one."

"Corrban." He didn't give her the rest of his name. He didn't think that she needed it and he really didn't like her. "I... I don't want to be here. I was happy in the life that I had, but I think your husband had other ideas."

That was another understatement, but at least Tessa bought it. She grumbled some, but lead him to Nellin's rooms. Corrban took the chance to strip down and run himself a hot shower. The last thing he wanted to do was face that man with a clean body. Besides, if the water was running and there was a little rose in the soap, no one would think that he was looking for a knife. Corrban looked around for a few minutes. It seemed that Nellin had gotten rid of his collection of ceremonial flint blades, likely because the kid was there, and that really was a pity. Corrban had been planning on splitting the man's chest open with one of his ancestor's weapons. He might be a few thousand years too late, but at least it was better late than never.

Nellin knocked as Corrban sunk down in the warm water. "Tessa thought you would be in here."

"You have a wife," Corrban calmly said. "Why exactly do you need me?"

"Because I married her for her family," Nellin replied. He laughed some and shook his head. "You know the Terran attitudes to those whose love is, shall we say, _inverted_? That's something for the colonies to struggle with, something for the preachers to rant about and everyone else to struggle with when they go to the mandatory services. I do what I have to do and I take what I need. And that, my dear Tobias, includes you."

Corrban just glared. He couldn't wait until he had a decent opportunity to kill Nellin. It was going to be bloody, it was going to be quick, and it was going to be _perfect_.


	21. Chapter 21

Corrban hated living in the big white house. There was a yard lined with imported oak trees and a few spotted horses - Corrban thought they were called appaloosas - grazed in the paddocks. The big dogs patrolled the grounds, growling at anything that moved. The wolves that had once roamed this planet were long dead, but their blood lived on in those mastiffs. Few of the dogs were a reddish brown. Most of them were varying colors of grey or brown. There was one snow white dog. It seemed to reign supreme, snarling at everything that moved and snapping at the other dogs. Corrban thought that it might have been a stud dog and that was why they tolerated the bad behavior.

The plantation functioned like it's own little universe. It was almost entirely self contained - everything that was needed was either grown on site or bought from those who had it nearby. The dogs, horses, and corn paid for nearly everything else. Nellin probably didn't leave the massive, sprawling bit of land very often and Corrban wished that he would rot there. The little girl didn't seem to know about the world she grew up in. She seemed to want to play with the dogs, but the big white mastiff snapped at her and sent her scurrying back. Corrban had always been amazed at the world that he could see from the windows of the house. He had always hated it, but he welcomed that now.

It gave him a way to see if anyone was going to walk in on his little murder extravaganza.

Corrban was dressed in a think silk robe, covered in brocaded patterns. He might have thought that they were pretty once - he thought that it was a feathered serpent motif and the other was a stylized jaguar - but now he hated it. He wanted to rip the flimsy, too soft material off and throw it in the fire. Corrban planned to burn the place to the ground, but he didn't want to kill Tessa or the kid. He figured that he was going to be doing them enough damage by killing Nellin and burning down their house. The last thing he needed to do was kill a kid or a woman. He might be better than his ancestors in that respect, but otherwise... Corrban was more than willing to embrace the stereotype.

He rested his head against the frosted glass and wished that he could be cuddling with Han. Maybe he would be helping Sheyvan make dinner or he might be telling rude jokes to Skyler. He would be with the people he loved, doing the things he loved, rather than being in a place he hated and having someone he despised try to fuck him into the mattress every night. Corrban was going to enjoy seeing this place tumble down around him. He had never liked fire - it had scared him after one of the serf villages had burned down and nearly killed him - but he was willing to do what it took to free himself. He was pretty sure that Nellin didn't deserve a painless death, but he wasn't an evil man.

Just a man who was tired and scared. Just a man who wanted his life back and didn't want to be constrained by the world around him or his past.

Corrban was left alone most of the day. Nellin was in his office, surrounded by gas screens, and talking to all sorts of important people. From what Corrban knew, Nellin had made a bit of a name for himself. He was a wealthy man now and his child would have the status that he never would. Corrban thought that Nellin was going to marry the girl to one of the lesser Clans and make a name for himself that way. It was a sick way to climb the social ladder, but it had been done that way for centuries. It just gave Corrban more of a reason to hate the man. He knew that Nellin didn't deserve the death that he had planned, but that was just the way things happened at times.

Life wasn't fair. If it was fair, then he would be sitting on a fancy ship with his loves right now.

Nellin walked up the stairs and opened the door. "You've been quiet today."

"Haven't you heard of knocking?" Corrban didn't bother to turn his head. He just kept gazing out the window. "You know, the think you're trying to evoke ended in nothing but a bloody disaster. An entire region was _obliterated_ \- never to rise again. That region is now one of the most toxic deserts on Terra. What makes you think that you're going to escape fate a second time around?"

"This time, we have the technology," Nellin dryly replied. He shoved his hands in his pocket and sat beside the man. "You seem to know quite a bit about Terran history for a man who would never be allowed to set foot on that planet."

Corrban snorted some. He could read. Nellin had taught him because he didn't enjoy reading himself and he liked to hear another person read the old stories out loud. He had figured out how to access books that had been reserved only for the Terrans and learned the dark side of their story. That was why he knew that his people had once been free and not only slaves of people who thought that they were only good for sex and menial work. He had learned some of the stories of his people and if he had been the sort of man to find a faith, he would have talked to one of the gods of his people. He had the feeling that Nellin wouldn't like what he was thinking, though.

"My people were born there," he finally said. Corrban finally turned around and gave Nellin a dark smile. "I think that gives us more of a claim to Terra than a family that came from Mera."

Not that he had a problem with the Merans. Most of them were decent people and they took a pretty dim view of their poor relations.

"I'm not arguing politics with you," Nellin growled. He pressed an unwanted kiss against Corrban cheek and stroked the other man's face. "I think I would rather do other things with you, my dear, and that doesn't involve your unwanted opinions."

Corrban managed to keep himself calm. Nellin was going to get his soon.


	22. Chapter 22

Corrban wasn't surprised when Nellin was called back to Terra Firma. Apparently, Nellin was something of a name there and he had the rights to a small property near the ocean. Said ocean was a toxic waste pit unless you happened to live near one of the districts that filtered it or lived under the water, but it was still a piece of property that most people couldn't hope to afford. Corrban had heard that Damia City or whatever it was called in Andromeda had a similar price scheme. Of course, Damia City was one of the oldest cities in the universe and most business in the locally communicating universe went through there, but it was still an interesting talking point. It was also a surefire way to make most of the universe hate you.

Nellin had a nice caravel that was tricked out like it belonged to a Jeyan'Dife' prince. The thing glittered with so much gold that it looked cheap and there was blue veined marble from Venus in the bathrooms. Green things that only grew on Earth clogged up the hallways and carved rock crystal covered most everything else. Nothing from Centeotl graced that floating hellship. Corrban, of course, was draped in a bizarre version of a loincloth - beaded white fabric that trailed on the ground - and a mockery of a headdress. He had a feeling that Nellin wanted to show him off. The man was a bastard like that and he did seem to enjoy making Corrban uncomfortable.

Terra Firma wasn't much from the docking bay. The sky was a dusty blue grey color and miles of flat, brown land stretched out for miles around. Soldiers clad in black gear clustered around the ship and they looked like they were sweltering. One of them, a blonde man with green eyes, tapped his foot like he was impatient. He likely lived in the slums nearly a mile away from this place and couldn't afford the fare off world. As it sat, many colonies wouldn't take exiles from Terra Firma, but the pirate crews were always hiring. The man offered him a wry smile as Corrban stepped out and even held out his hand when Corrban stumbled. He squeezed it after a second, wondering if there was a spot of goodness in this hellhole.

The man bowed his head when Nellin stalked over. "Commander Arrison, reporting for duty, sir!"

Nellin looked the man over. "Have I met you before?"

"No, sir!" Arrison snapped to parade attention and so did the rest of his men.

If he dropped Corrban's hand, well, Corrban was the only one who was upset by it. Nellin snarled as he stalked the man, his face covered with a strange sort of anger. Was he jealous? Was he jealous of a man who stood all day in the blazing sun and was likely descended from someone who voted the wrong way in an election nearly a thousand years ago? Nellin seemed to think so. He sneered as he looked at the man. From what Corrban could see, Arrison was in fine shape. His black armor was sharp and in good shape. His weapon looked like it was one of the advanced types and it glowed like it was fully charged. He was well groomed, too, and he smelled like sweet soaps.

Corrban thought he was a fine man. He just didn't know why why Nellin hated the man.

Nellin bowed his head like a snake. "Then take your hands off of my property. This plantation mutt is worth more than you'll ever be, do you understand me? He may be a mixture of every race under this good Lord, but he provides me something that a purebred like you could not. For one thing, his family is loyal and knows who their betters are."

"I understand, sir." Arrison bowed his head and took a step back. He still stared, though. "Sir, I would suggest allowing your property to find better clothing. The winds have been coming out of the south and they're tainted. One of the containment lakes has dried up, despite all reports to the contrary."

There were containment lakes that dried up? Corrban had heard that Terra Firma was a mess, but he didn't know it was this bad. From what he knew about containment lakes, they were a Martian way of containing and denaturing radioactive waste by sinking it in wastewater. He wondered why they had implemented something from one of Earth's greatest enemies. Corrban also didn't know that there were Martians left alive. He had learned from the internet that most Martians had been gassed when they refused to cow to the God-King's commands and the survivors had been rounded up and used to settle places like Charon or Europa. Knowing that there were still Martians who kept the old ways alive... it gave him some measure of hope about his own people.

The city - Corrban thought it used to be known as D.C. for some reason - was now a sprawling metropolis that was filled with shining chrome towers and streaks of gleaming neon. Some of the towers were covered in plants and Corrban could see the ionic nets that kept the worst of the radiation out. The sky got a little bluer the closer they got and the long, thin train seemed to race through the struggling countryside. Corrban hadn't realized that so many people were so poor. He saw so many shanties beside struggling little patches of green and a few ragged looking animals. There were a few of the new skiffs that cut through the air, but he saw horses and ratty looking contraptions that he thought were called cars.

Corrban had only heard about the city. He knew that it was called Invanka and it was where much of the American business went on. It was a strange place, he thought, full of foreboding as they drew closer to it. He thought he saw a few sprawling buildings where a cross wrapped in a flag adorned the sides. They were huge - easily the biggest structures in the barren landscape - and they were clean. He wished he could say more for the city. Invanka looked like it was covered in a fine layer of grime and he could smell the stench as the train passed through the ion curtain. The city looked strange - like it was an alien thing forced against the landscape - and it seemed to crouch over the scattered houses like some kind of predator.

Arrison still at beside him and stroked his hair. Corrban decided that he liked the man and he wished that there was a way to fully thank him.


	23. Chapter 23

Corrban curled up close to Arrison. He hated this place and he was the only thing warm about this hellish city. He was stuck inside a gleaming chrome tower. Ornate glasswork covered the windows and swamped the walls and floors with cold, colorful light. Ionic nets covered the windows to keep out the radiation. They cast a eerie blue glow over everything and kept the birds away. The room they were both stuck in was made of gleaming white metal, shot through with streaks of chrome and blue white neon. It was an almost dizzying thing and the lack of color was starting to make him go mad. There weren't any plants in the room and the rugs were plain and white.

The place looked like it was a picture out of one of those holozines that Nellin had lying around. It was cold, it was sterile, and Corrban hated it. The bed was sleek and silver and the bedding was crisp and white. The floor was made of a strange stainless steel looking thing and so were the tables and the chair. The sleek minimalism was going to drive Corrban mad if he let it. He hated this place. Arrison seemed to feel the same and the tension seemed to stream off of his body. He had gotten Corrban to sit beside him and he methodically ran a comb through Corrban's dark hair. Corrban was going to a banquet soon and he was expected to look good. After all, Nellin had a reputation to uphold.

Little streaks of gold colored Corrban's cheeks and kohl rimmed his eyes. His hair was being braided and combed before woven through with more golden strands. The only clothing he wore was a thin golden loincloth. It was wrapped around his body in the right way and the ends were covered in gold and obsidian beads. His wrists were covered in thin golden bangles and his ears had been freshly pierced. Simple golden studs, but it still hurt. Corrban hated the way he was all done up. He hated the way his black hair was styled and braided instead of being simply tied back like he always did. This wasn't him. It wasn't the way he was supposed to look. This was the thing that Nellin had created and Corrban hated it.

Arrison kissed his cheek as he drew back. "You're beautiful, you know. The most beautiful man I've ever seen."

Corrban smiled and lowered his lashes. He slipped on the simple sandals before he stood up. He felt like a doll rather than a man and he hated all of it. He wanted to scream and rant and rail, but he had to obey at least for the moment. He stood up and walked around for a few minutes. The ends of his outfit dragged on the ground, but he could get over that. Corrban sighed softly. He waited by the door, not daring to look at Arrison. He knew that he liked the man, but he also knew that their sort of love wouldn't be accepted by the people on Terra Firma. They would hate Arrison for how he loved and the man had to know it. That was why he drew back and gave him a sad smile.

Corrban took a gamble. "I'm going to escape. I... I would like you to come with me."

"You have to have a locked ship to get off this planet," Arrison murmured. He shook his head and glanced around. "Getting those is... next to impossible. It's money I don't have and with my stained name... Sweetheart, I don't think I could get one of the skiffs. They're punishing me for something that my ancestors did. I can't leave this place and you know it."

"You don't have to buy a ship," Corrban murmured. "You can always steal one and I'm pretty good at flying. I used to have my own ship, but it got blasted by pirates. I've been flying with friends and lovers of mine. I'm sure you could always fit right in."

Arrison shook his head. Anything that he might have said vanished, because that was when Nellin opened the door and took him out. Corrban held his head high. He was descended from ancient warriors and he wasn't going to fade away like a flower before the sun. He was going to stand strong, to hold his head high. He took the crystalline stairs like he was a king, walking down them and greeting his people. He took Nellin's hand like the man was a prince instead of a slave master, like the man came from an honest background instead of blood money. He walked into the room like he owned the place and he gazed at the assembled people like they were intruders in his home.

The king, god-emperor, or whatever they called him, sat at the end of the table. He was an arrogant looking man, with faded red hair and pale blue eyes. His skin was as white as the winter moon. He wore a simple black suit and a black and tan dog lounged at his feet. The man stood up and smiled. He looked so cold and cruel that Corrban wanted to back away from him. He rested his hand against the woven material, enjoying the way the gold and fine silk shimmered under his hands. He wanted to throw everything on the floor and demand that they fix things to his liking, but he knew that would never happen. Corrban simply smiled grimly and tried to keep himself calm.

The king cleared his throat. "It's been awhile since I met someone from the outer colonies. Tell me, Nellin, how are things on Centeotl and why did you see fit to bring such a fine thing here without letting me taste it first?"

"Because I believed that you wouldn't want to touch skin like this," Nellin replied. He rolled his eyes, but bowed his head with a wry smile. "I must have thought wrong. Would you like to take him to your rooms? I'm sure that you'll find him most agreeable. After all, he's been with me for quite some time and I know that he will obey... or _else_."

The man laughed and leaned back. "No, I don't think that I'm going to touch that with a ten foot pole. I'm not nearly as brave as you are. Touching a thing like this... You're a much braver man than I might ever be." He shook his head and pushed Corrban away. "Now. To business. Our trade with Venus has been very lopsided as of late and I was wondered if you would be interested in turning from corn, as useful as that might be, to other products. I heard that your planet had a few jade, alexandrite, and Grandidierite reserves. If you would trade a few of the corn fields for a few well placed mines, it might give you something valuable in return. I was thinking that it might get you something of equal value."

Nellin raised a brow. "Consider it done. The volcanic regions?"

"Of course," the king replied. He smiled grimly. "You may refer to me as King Erik. After all, I do want my own nobility to refer to me by my true name."


	24. Chapter 24

Corrban awoke to yelling and blasterfire. He yelled, rolling off of the bed and bolting towards the closet. For a second, he thought he heard something heavy fall above them, like a body fell, and then there was more blasterfire. Yelling filled the air and he could smell the acrid stench of dirt. Nellin snarled something and grabbed his hair. For once, Corrban followed. He had no idea what was going on, if there was a battle, or if there was some kind of mutant creature loose in the building. Nellin growled softly. He grabbed his own blaster and forced Corrban after him. Corrban wished he had the chance to grab some pants, but there was no time and he wasn't going to start a fight with a man who had a gun.  
  


"What's going on?" Corrban whispered. He made himself as small as possible, pressing himself against the wall. "Is there some kind of monster here? Is it gonna eat us? What the hell are we going to do!"

"Shut up," Nellin snapped. He glared at Corrban. "Seriously. You're a pain in the ass."

Corrban wanted to snap back that he had no choice about being here, but he knew when to keep his mouth shut. Nellin pressed his body towards a maintenance shaft. The place was choked with dust and cobwebs and he swore that there were giant rats all over the damn place. Corrban wanted to bolt, but he really didn't have a choice. Nellin's eyes were narrow slits and he started climbing a rusty ladder. Corrban followed him closely. He gripped the rungs, trying not to look down. Massive air ducts crossed the tiny space. They were covered with a thin sheet of dust and giant spiders crouched in the corners. Corrban could hear the hiss of escaping gases. He cringed and tried not to breathe in too deeply.

Nellin smashed the lock with the butt of his blaster and forced his way inside. The blasterfire was heavier now. Corrban could hear the cries of wounded men and smell the stench of burnt ozone. The place seemed to shake almost and icy cold air snaked down towards them. Nellin forced them both into a corner. He drew his blaster, slipping into another service hall, and paused when the blasterfire became heavier. This sounded like a pirate attack. For a second, Corrban thought they were on some space station and there was a pirate attack. He reached down and touched the vibrating metal. The rivets seemed to jerk in their sockets. The walls shuddered with the force of pulse weapons and parts of the ceiling collapsed in.

Fancy buildings like this weren't made for all out war. They were made for people to live in and weren't modular. If one of the levels went, it was likely that the rest of the place would go, too.

Nellin suddenly went very still and dropped his weapon. "What the hell's going on up there, man!"

Corrban looked up and swallowed. He didn't know the uniforms of these guards. They wore strange looking dress blues that were edged with golden cords and drenched with blood. Their gloves were darkened with soot and they moved with the grace of a large cat. There was something wild and dark in their eyes, like they were looking for an excuse to kill. They grabbed Nellin up and forced him to his knees. Nellin glared at them. Defiance seemed to drip out of his every pore. He glared at them and the angle caught just how inhuman he was. His eyes seemed to glow within and you could see the fangs he tried to keep hidden. His skin had a grayish pallor to it and ghost stripes played out across his skin.

"Don't kill him," a new voice said. The man sounded arrogant, like he thought he owned the world. "Even my father understood that he would have some use. I'm very interested in what his little dirtball of a world has."

"I'll follow you to the moons of Danu," Nellin promised. "Just don't kill me!"

The man crouched down. His hair was bleached blonde and his skin was as pale as the winter moon. Corrban thought he had watery blue eyes and he wore a thickly brocaded tunic that was edged with silver and pearls. Parts of his clothing were drenched with blood and others were stained with smoke. Corrban had no idea who that man was. He hadn't ever seen this man before, but something told Corrban that he was part of the royal family. The man grinned when he saw Corrban and gestured to his guards. They forced Corrban over to him and the man ran his hands through Corrban's hair. He cocked his head, like he was amused by Corrban, and just shrugged when he saw Nellin.

"Tell him to go back home and await my orders," the man drawled.

"Yes, my lord." One of the soldiers bowed and grabbed Nellin by the arms before dragging him back.

"And tell him that I'm not nearly as merciful as my father," the man sharply said. "I'll know when he's been skimming off the top and I'll know when he's allowing the serfs to engage in deviance or trade with the Protectorate." Then he crouched down to Corrban. "You're quite pretty, you know? I don't think I've ever seen someone who looks like you. What's your name, beautiful?"

"Tobias," Corrban quietly said. He looked down and wished that he had some fucking pants. "I... most people call me Corrban. Tobias Corrban is my... my name. Who are you?"

"Barin." The man tipped his head up and opened Corrban's mouth. "Otherwise known as the king of the Terran Empire and probably the reason why this planet hasn't gone to hell yet. Someone has to save their souls for them." He forced Corrban to stand up and pressed a papery kiss to Corrban's still lips. "It's good to be king, you know. I can have whatever I want and maybe that I shouldn't deny myself what I want. I've never tried anything with a man before, but you look like you've been around a few times. Flying is best learned in old skiffs, after all."

Corrban hung his head and tried not to claw at his wrists. He just wanted to be free of this, not swept up into whatever the hell this was. There was madness in Barin's eyes and it was clear that he wasn't used to being denied anything. Corrban just followed the man demurely as they walked past a row of the old king's guards. The men were all dead and their blood pooled on the marble floor. Barin wore the dead man's circlet and didn't seem to care that it was stained with blood and bits of brain matter. The old king's body was tossed into an incinerator chute along with the bodies of his guards. The romantic part of Corrban wanted to believe that the old king would have wanted that.

After all, going by the wounds and the brand new blaster burns, the man had died fighting and cowards didn't do that.


	25. Chapter 25

Barin kissed Corrban ever so gently. He wasn't a cruel man - at least not to the slave that he had claimed - but there was a strange hardness to his eyes that couldn't be explained away. He seemed to be a vain man, going by the way he cared for his blonde hair and his skin, and he wanted Corrban to think that he was pretty, too. That was fine. Corrban was more than willing to massage his master's ego and all he needed to do was get a key and a ship. He and Arrison were going to kill Nellin and then Corrban was going to fuck off into the sunset and get plastered. Arrison was a useful tool and he seemed to want to go to space. Corrban was more than willing to grant him that wish, just not let him touch that body.

Barin touched Corrban's face and smiled wryly. "I don't know what Nellin saw in you. He's nothing more than a jumped up fool, anyways, and he has a taste for mutts who looked like they crawled out of a mud pit."

"Maybe he liked men who bite back," Corrban murmured. He smiled and leaned forwards before kissing the man softly. "I used to watch old American movies with my friends. There was one where a crew of Russians and British were captured. They were submariners and they hated each other. But what happened was they decided that death was better than slavery. So what they did was they broke out of their cages and killed as many of the slavers that they could before they were all killed." Corrban smiled wryly. "I'm one of those men. I was just waiting until I could kill Nellin and then you dropped into my lap."

"What do you mean?!" Barin scrambled backwards and looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Unless you give me a ship," Corrban murmured. He grabbed the small blaster that he had palmed from a passing guard. "One that's keyed so it can leave orbit. I have myself and someone that I'd like to get out of here." He smiled and pressed the blaster barrel under the man's chin. "And don't double cross me, Barin. I've never committed regicide before and I sure as hell don't want to make it a first. And if I think you're going to cross me, I'm going to blast a hole in that morass you call a skull. I'm done with being merciful, Barin. I let my mercy bite me in the ass once and I'm not going to let that happen again."

He meant those words, too. Barin gaped at him like he was insane, but he backed off and grabbed for a comm. Corrban sat beside him calmly, watching Barin as he rapidly spoke into the set. Corrban didn't trust the man as far as he could throw him. Instead of allowing Barin to wander off and possibly call the guards, Corrban followed him around and made sure he did what he was told. Corrban might have lied about the ending of that movie - most of the men had survived and only a traitor was locked outside the sub to drown - but he figured Barin didn't need to know that. Barin smiled wryly as he looked up. There was something nasty in his eyes, like he knew something Corrban didn't.

"You are smart," Barin whispered. He stood up slowly and shook his head. "The comm lines are fading fast. Someone disconnected the ionic nets around the palace and half of my guards are sick."

"I know." Corrban smiled back. "I have a friend on the inside. He made sure to, ah, take care of things like that."

"Your ship is on the dock," Barin growled. He shook his head. "I should have you shot right here for what you did!"

"You won't." Corrban pulled the blaster and dialed back the power. "You're going to wish that you did, but hey. All your guards are sick with radiation poisoning and someone spiked your water tanks with salt, sulfur, and a few other wonderful things. If you drink too much of it, your intestines are going to slide right out of your body. It shouldn't be a problem for a rich man like you, but hey. Half the city is going to be pissed and they're going to take it out on your hide."

"Why, you little - !"

Corrban shot the man in the head and stepped over his prone body. If he was a nastier man, he would have killed Barin, but he didn't want to have the Terran Empire after him. The palace was empty and Corrban could see the sick men laying in the makeshift bays. For a second, he felt bad about what he had ordered Arrison to do, but he pushed that away. He considered it a war. That meant he could do whatever he damn well needed, fuck the consequences. If he had to blast a ship apart to escape, he was going to do that. The water was going to kill more than a few people and he knew that the locals would riot. There as a song about that, after all, even though the wrong man had been killed.

Arrison met him on the launch pad. "You did it? Is Barin dead?"

"Not yet," Corrban looked at the small, thin ship. It was a little thing, more like an Andromedi ship than anything else, and it seemed to crouch against the tarmac. "This is the ship he got for me? This little ragged thing?"

Arrison shook his head as he opened the hatch. There was something gentle in his eyes and he reached for Corrban like he wanted a kiss. Corrban shoved him off. He didn't have the time for that right now. He was tired, he wasn't feeling like being social, and all he wanted to do was scrub himself off with clean water. Arrison looked at him like he was surprised, like he hadn't thought that Corrban wouldn't do that to him. Corrban locked the little ship down and stood at the bridge. It had been a long time since he'd used a small, thin ship like this and he knew than smaller Andromedi class ships handled... well, they were a little bit ticky at times. The last thing he wanted to do was take a nosedive into a mountain.

Arrison poked his head up. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"It's been a few years." Corrban pulled the ship's nose up and gunned the thing. "I try not to mess with Andromedi ships because they tend to be, well, not very nice." He twisted the yoke some and twisted a thin, silver key. "I heard it was a little like Russian submarines back in the day, before they were all enslaved or killed. They're pissy unless you know the sweet spots."

"Why are you...?" Arrison trailed off.

"Not a cowering little fool?" Corrban supplied. He rolled his eyes. "I'm not just a boy whore, Arrison, and I would like you to not treat me like that." He took a deep breath. "When we hit a space station, I'll let you out. I'm not letting you get killed on my suicide mission, you know."

"Suicide mission?"

"I'm going to kill Rusher Nellin and then I'm going to try to escape," Corrban calmly said. "I happen to have a family that I love, Arrison, and I'm not going to throw it all away for someone I hardly know."

"Corrban!" Arrison yelped. "I thought - "

"You thought wrong," Corrban softly said. "But that you for your help. I do appreciate it."

Arrison looked at him in horror. Corrban glared at the man and set the bridge for Holban Station. He had places that he needed to be and patching up someone's broken heart wasn't one of those things he needed.


	26. Chapter 26

Holban Station was an acient thing, streaked with rust and covered in a thin film of grime and oil. Her rivets were fused to the metal by a layer of corrosion. They were so old that they couldn't be moved, not even by an act of god. The station was a sprawling thing, made of burnished metal that was streaked and dented from asteroid impacts and covered in the filth that came from being doused in the exhaust fumes of millions of starships. Thousands of ships could dock in the acres of space here and some even lived there. Station rats, some killed them. Some of those people were wealthy and others were the poorest of the poor. Holban was like that, a perfect microcosm of society, hanging in space like a fucked up planet.

This old station had something called a nave - a dark space in the center of the station that was part of the original build. It was a small space, clogged with all sorts of shrines to every god in the galaxy. Some sects refused to share worship space with what they saw as the heathen, so they had places away from the little nave where they could control whoever went in and out. That was where Corrban found himself, a white fringed cloth draped over his head and a stick of incense propped up in front of a feathered serpent. He rarely prayed. The gods ad never listened to him before, so why should they start now? Corrban didn't even know why he was doing this, just that something told him that he should.

"Am I going to die?" he softly asked. "Just like that? My name with me? Am I going to die like a flower, crushed against a stone before my time? Is there going to be anything left of me when I'm gone, anything at all? Has everything I've done been in vain?"

Nothing answered him. It never had and it never would, but Corrban still had to hope. He reached up, touching the thing with its scales made of flaked turquoise and eyes of painted shell. All around him were travelers praying to their gods and the air was thick with the smell of incense. Women robed in white prayed to a gentle looking lady and what looked like the Sci, dressed in heavy ceremonial furs, offered animal blood to a snarling wolf. This was a sacred place - no weapons allowed, no fighting tolerated. Here was where the weary came to seek what they could never find, all for enough of a pittance to keep the lights on. Corrban understood that. He understood why people clung to fairy tales in hard times.

Space was a hard and cold place. If a ship went dead in the wrong spot, that spelled a cold, long death for everyone involved. People had to have something - the snarling White Wolves, the gods of his people, even Saint Kateri - to ask for comfort. Maybe it would be enough, they hoped. Maybe it would give them something that they had never had before - the illusion of safety in a world that didn't care about them. Conformity of faith was something really only practiced by the Terrans. The Sci didn't care as long as no one painted over their old shrines or spread sickness where they weren't welcome. The Merans didn't want their ancestral traditions tainted by others, so they were a little more aggressive and wished to have their own places of rest.

One of the ladies smiled at him. "Are you quite alright?"

"No," Corrban admitted. He turned around the place, the little darkened room that smelled like incense and the hopes of thousands of people. "I'm never going to be okay and there's nothing anyone can do to fix me. No gods, no doctors, nothing. Revenge is a hard and lonely thing."

He left her alone and gifted the silk shawl to the statue. Corrban wasn't going to need it anymore. He thought back to the innocent way he had started this trip, teasing Sheyvan in his ship and finding a love that he thought he had lost. Maybe that was what the universe was offering him: a chance at life and then taking it all away. This place seemed to be dragging him down into some kind of malaise. Maybe that was his mission against Nellin, the fact that he was going to kill Nellin and then let the universe take him. He wished there was a way for him to let Sheyvan, Skyler, and Han know, but maybe it was better that they didn't know. Corrban didn't need to kill them, too.

"I'm sorry," Corrban whispered. He smiled sadly and found a small recorder and a quite place. This was going to be the hardest thing that he had ever done. "I'm so sorry Sheyvan, Skyler, Han... I love you more than life itself, but I walk my own path now. I can't take you down this path with me, even though I wish that I could. I wish that I could let you help me, but I can't. I love you. I can't let you kill yourself for me."

Corrban closed the thing and uploaded the message. They would find it, he knew. He had sent it straight to Sheyvan's ship's computer. It would be played as soon as Sheyvan fired up his coffee maker. The way he had that ship wired was something else and just thinking about it made Corrban smile a little bit. He wished there was a way he could kiss that man, could tell him that all Corrban wanted was that little space in the galaxy. It was theirs. It was all he wanted, but he knew that he wouldn't have it anymore. That life was dead to him now. For a second, he thought he heard someone call his name, but he brushed that away. Maybe Corrban was going mad.

Maybe he had always been mad.

"Corrban!" Someone grabbed him from behind. "My god! You're still alive!"

Corrban touched Skyler's face and closed his eyes. He couldn't help himself from crying, just rested into those arms. He hadn't been touched like this in the longest time. Corrban couldn't hear the others. He just knew that he was being held by someone who wanted him, who wasn't going to hurt him. Skyler touched his face, his eyes dark and painful. It looked like the man was wearing a little eye shadow and his face looked every bit as beautiful as it always did. Corrban touched him with trembling fingers, trying to memorize the face he was going to have to leave behind. He couldn't take them with him. Han grabbed him close, crying softly and stroking his hair.

"Please don't stop me," Corrban managed.

"From what?" Sheyvan grabbed his hand and kissed him deeply. "What exactly are you going to do?"

"I'm going to kill Rusher Nellin," Corrban finally said. "That's going to get me killed and I don't want to do that to you."

"You won't die if we all go," Sheuvan brightly suggested. "Why don't we all go and you can tell me about your planet while we're at it."


	27. Chapter 27

Corrban curled up with Sheyvan and traced the scars on his chest. He felt a little strangle, wrapped up in silk pajamas when the others were naked. Hehated being naked with other men now. Skyler kissed him gently and nuzzled his cheekbones. Corrban knew he had lost weight. He knew there was something hollow in his eyes and he shied away from those he loved if they scared him. Han was bad about it. He liked to run up behind all the others and shout and that reminded Corrban of things he would rather forget. He wished he had a knife, something he could use to defend himself or kill Nellin. The knives his ancestors had used had been made out of flint and some of them looked like they were made of frozen blood.

He would have to make do with steel.

"I've never heard of Centeotl," Skyler said. He sat up on the bed and grabbed for the sweet, milky coffee that Sheyvan loved so much. "But then, I'm not from this sector of space. My grandfather's Meran." He paused and sighed softly. "I don't even know if that poor bastard is still alive. I don't even know how I would try to find my family now. For all I know, they're dead and there's nothing I can do to find them, save go looking for a graveyard or one of those Mausoleum places. I went to one of those once. The ceiling was painted like the stars and it was one of the most pretty places that I'd ever been. I think I'd like to be buried there."

Corrban closed his eyes and hugged himself. "It's a mudball. A slave planet, if you will. Like the castle that we picked up and Sheyvan was _supposed to have moved_. They enslaved my people a few hundred years before the Terran Empire took to space. We were farm work and easy sex, nothing more. They hated us. Their leader said we were all thugs and rapists and they needed to bring us to heel before we killed them." Corrban sighed and looked up. "My name should be Cortez, you know. Not Corrban. They tried to make us like them and when they couldn't, they trucked us off to one of those little planets they grabbed after they killed all the natives and made us work."

"Slavery." Sheyvan sighed and kissed Corrban's neck. "I thought the Terrans were better than that, but I spent enough time out here to know that where there's cash, there's going to be people trying to grab it."

Corrban had his own opinions about this. Male slaves were favored because they tended to be stronger and didn't breed. They didn't miss work for crippling pain three days every month and they tended to stay slim and supple longer if one was looking for sex. He pushed Sheyvan away and stood up. There wasn't anything he could do here. He hated feeling like he was useless, hated feeling like there was nothing he could do. For a second, Corrban was felt guilty over the way he had shoved Arrison away. The man had been nothing but kind to him and Corrban had abandoned him. He shook his head, trying to chase those thoughts out of his head. He had a murder to plan.

"Have you ever held a man's heart in your hand?" Corrban suddenly asked. He turned around, touching the cool metal walls. "That's how I'm going to kill Nellin. I'm going to cut open his chest and hold his beating heart in my hands. It's something my ancestors used to do as a sacrifice to the gods - a way to honor both them and the humans they were gifting to the powers that be. I'm not gonna do that, though. I'm gonna kill that bastard like a pig."

"Wouldn't that be dishonoring the gods?" Sheyvan slowly asked. He sighed and rubbed his face. "If you're supposed to give the gods the best and the brightest, why would you give them someone like that? Wouldn't that be flipping them the bird?"

"Because the gods never answered me when I begged them to save me," Corrban hissed. He slammed his fist into the wall and cursed softly. "And believe you me, I _wanted_ to believe. I tried to believe with all my heart that Huitzilopochtli was going to come out of the heavens and use a turquoise dagger to kill those dirty bastards who kept me as a slave. I _begged_ him to come. I swore that I would serve him for the end of my days and then in Mictlan if he would come and save me from them. He never came. Totec never answered my prayers. He just hung there in the sky, as cold and distant as the god I was told to worship in their church. Do you blame me, Sheyvan? Do you blame me for hating them?"

"No, no I don't." Sheyvan kissed him softly and shook his head. "I don't blame you, Corrban. I'll never blame you for feeling this way."

Corrban tried not to cry. He hurt in a way that he couldn't explain, hurt in a way that bubbled up and festered inside of him. His people might have been warriors once, but the fighting spirit had been bled out of them. They might have sang the old songs and spoke of the old gods, they did as they were told. Corrban himself had seen that. He knew how scared the people were and the way they shied away from the masters on their gleaming golden horses. The dogs they used would kill the slaves if given the order. Sometimes, the masters set the dogs on their slaves just to make sure everyone they knew they were in charge. Corrban knew what dog attacks looked like.

He was going to enjoy killing those beasts.

"I'm never gonna get better," Corrban softly said. "Even if I kill him, I'm never going to get better. He's always going to be taunting my dreams, telling me that I'm nothing, just a slave for him to use as he saw fit."

"I wish you could kill him twice," Sheyvan dryly said.

"He has a daughter," Corrban finally said. "I'm going to burn the house down and I don't want her to see her father die. I saw my father die and it screwed me up for life. I might hate her, but I'm not gonna do her that badly. I'm not gonna kill the wife - she wasn't an evil bitch to me, just as cold as the winter wind. I don't blame her, being married to that son of a bitch. He wasn't exactly nice to her, you know."

Sheyvan rolled his eyes. Corrban was pretty sure that he would have killed all three of them, but Corrban wasn't that kind of man. He couldn't bring himself to kill a child. Innocence was something he hadn't ever been allowed to have and he couldn't snatch that away from someone else. Corrban sat down on the bed and gathered his loves around them. For a second, he wanted to sing a warrior sound, to let his voice and Nahua do what his words couldn't. He wished he truly could be a jaguar or an eagle knight, even if his family had come from simple farmers and the Emperor's family had been brutally killed. It was fun to imagine, though, that royal blood ran through his veins.

It looked like everyone else's, though. Enough of it had been spilled to prove that.

"We're coming to Centeotl," Skyler suddenly said. "I think it's time to get ready."

Corrban sighed softly and slipped Sheyvan's knife from its sheath. He was as ready for this as he would ever be.


	28. Chapter 28

They landed on one of the south eastern mud flats, far away from any kind of drone or monitoring device. This valley bore the scars of Centeotl's more geologically active period and it was dotted with oozing mud volcanoes and hot springs that were host to all kinds of strange life. The native grasses - adorned with purple stalks and bright gold veins - still grew here and the azure winged hawks drifted through the breeze. It was warmer in this little valley. The lack of any arable land - along with any kind of gold or precious timber - meant that it had escaped the cutting and the purges relatively unscathed. Corrban had heard that the warrah - a typeof native wolf-like creature - still roamed here, but he had never seen them.

No one had even heard their howls in a hundred years or more.

"I heard that the warrah used to live here," Corrban slowly said. He walked through the sea of rich, dark mud and turned towards the others. "These valleys - they're not worth much. The trees can't grow in this kind of soil. There isn't any gold, either. I don't think you can farm anything in a place that's ankle deep in mud. Used to be, this would flood and take all this stuff down to the lowlands. But I don't think that's happening anymore. They damned all the rivers for power and the coal gets exported to places that want it."

"And this matters because?" Sheyvan asked. "I didn't sign up for a geology lesson, you know."

"Because this is my home," Corrban softly replied. He gestured to the carved canyon walls, littered as they were with caves and hawk nests. "I like it. I miss it a lot. Why do you think I'm here? I want revenge, yes, but I also want to free my home." He sat down on a rocky outcropping and sighed. "Elias said that we could meet him here. They have a radio and they have guns. The power base on the planet seems to be with Nellin and not enough Terrans want to come to these backwaters. It makes chasing the runaways more trouble than it's worth." He glanced towards the end of the little canyon and waited for someone to show up. "All I think they need is a way to get from here to the main plantation without getting caught."

"Explain." Skyler sat beside him. "This place is pretty desolate, Corrban. Are you trying to tell me that there are guards here?"

"Not here, no." Corrban shook his head and grinned when a man riding a shaggy grey horse trotted near them. "This place isn't fit for humans to live here. Centeotl is too new for humans to really live over all of it. They like the northern highlands because it tends to be calmer, more temperate like. Down here, you have problems with the floods, the warrah, and the mud volcanoes. The hot springs tend to be toxic, too. They don't have enough water, not enough land to grow things, and the wildlife could be called, well, _aggressive_." He gestured to one of the hawks and watched as the others took a step back. "They like to attack goat kids and feed them to their babies. There used to be larger ones - those were called ruki - but they were killed off. Those things took people."

"Thanks for the history lesson." Elias slid off the horse. A large red and white canine - a warrah that was missing one eye - walked beside him. "You seem to have glossed over the less than desirable parts, though. About how they poisoned the rivers so we couldn't have any drinking water and the like."

Corrban smiled wryly and shook the man's hand. The muddy landscape seemed so alive around him. The high, jagged canyon walls carved the sky into a long, winding river. The tallest parts of the canyon had low, rocky formations that looked like a nest. Corrban shivered. He was more than a little grateful that the ruk was now a thing of the past. Anyone who wanted to bring that thing back had to be mad, hateful, or both. He glanced back to Elias, watching as the man allowed his horse to graze beside a patch of sagebrush. The warrah climbed on to a rock formation and started grooming the mud from its paws. It was a strange looking beast, reddish brown with a white tipped tail and black tear streaks over its eyes.

"What do we need to do?" Corrban produced a small holographic projector and showed Elias the map he had made from memory. "This isn't to scale, but I speent enough time around that place to know how dangerous it is. If we can take it and turn the drones against any attacker, we might have a solid chance at keeping the place. I've been to Terra, too. The place is too rundown to really care about keeping a mudball like this."

Elias narrowed his dark eyes. "You say that until a squad of marines shows up."

"Then we kill them." Corrban shrugged and manipulated the shimmering blue map. "There isn't anything of a city here, just the main complex. If we cane take that out, we can hold the place. As much as I hate to say it, we might not be able to avoid some, ah, regrettable casualties. Nellin is the one that bought this plave from what I heard and he's going to be the driving force in keeping it. How many men do you have?"

"Fifty," Elias replied. "That's not going to be enough."

"It has to be," Corrban argued. "We can't get bigger ships in under the LADAR. This one has to do."

Elias shook his head, but he laid out a few data cards on the flat, hot rock. Corrban scooped them up. He wasn't sure what they were, but they looked important. There was a good chance that they held information about Nellin or that the defenses were going to be down. Just because Corrban didn't think that there were satellites in this area didn't mean that there weren't any. They had to be careful. He glanced up towards the rocky slopes, hoping that no one was around. Elias was a runaway. If he was captured, he was going to be killed. Nellin might even torture him just to find out where the others were. A part of him wondered if Elias had a back up plan, but Corrban was too much of a coward to ask.

The warrah stood up and gave a low howl. It bounded off the rock, racing towards a garishly colored patch of hot springs. Corrban grabbed the horse and raced after the dog. A man stood on the rocks, wearing what looked like a uniform. The warrah barked at it, snapping and snarling as it tried to reach the man. Corrban wrestled the rearing horse under control and opened fire. His first blaster bolt hit the man in the shoulder, knocking him down. The next two struck the rocks around him and his side. The man grabbed at a root, but it snapped under his weight and he plunged towards the hot springs below. Corrban tried to ignore the agonized screaming. There was nothing he could do and, besides, the man was going to die anyways.

He rode back towards the others. "I think we need to move on. The drones might have spotted us. Elias - I'll call you when I need you."

Corrban slid off the horse and tried to calm his nerves. He could do this. He _had_ to do this, because failure wasn't an option.


	29. Chapter 29

Corrban hadn't ever gotten this far into Centeotl's back country. It was drier here, far from the oceans that warmed the winds and brought curtains of rain. The sky stayed bright blue, with the twin stars doing their silent dance as the day drew on. The _Devil's Bastard Son_ rested below a strand of mesquite trees, with all the hatches popped open and her engines totally dead. She was running on battery power now and Corrban thought there was enough to keep them going for a long time. Out here, the world was silent. A small creek splashed over stones not far from the little thicket. It was the single ribbon of green that wove through the landscape - the rest was red brown dirt and half dead, wind twisted thorn trees.

Skyler perched on a flat rock and looked through a pair of electronic binoculars. Not far from him, small brown canines played in the dirt. They weren't much bigger than a cat, but the little things had quite a snarl and were totally fearless. They snapped at anything that tried to grab them, especially the great black hawks that swooped through the sky. Something told Corrban that the little canines were the apex predator of this environment. He had seen animals like that before, of course, but they were dead and stuffed or skinned. Mounted somewhere, like a living thing was a trophy. Corrban shook his head. Sweat dripped down his brow and stained his shirt. Going by the way everyone else was panting and sweating, they were hot, too.

"Dust clouds at three o'clock," Skyler softly said. He hoped down from his perch and started back for the ship. "I think we have company. We need to get going or start a fight. No idea how many of them there are. Might be a few too many of them for us to take on."

"We have laser rifles." Corrban scrambled down the slope and started for the crates stacked in the hold. "We should be able to take them out."

Laser rifles used a piece of crystal to slow down the energy bolt so it actually burnt and penetrated the opponent instead of just leaving a light raised red scar and knocking someone out. They had been banned in much of Andromeda, due to the way that pirates had adapted them as ship breaking tools, but the Terran Empire had stolen the plans some decades before and built their own factories. Corrban found the weapons very heavy and they had a nasty habit of overheating if they were used for hours on end. They even had recoil, which wasn't a problem if one was using a hand laser or a smaller, lighter rifle. The Andromedi, of course, preferred long distance sniping with lead and using laser swords.

Corrban grabbed the binoculars. "I count ten of them. Looks like we're gonna have some fun."

Sheyvan grabbed the rifle and sighed. "You know, we probably don't need to start a fight. We have no idea if Han's gonna go wandering right in the middle of them and he's pretty enough to get snapped up. If we close the hatches and stay real quiet, they'll probably leave. For all we know, they're just hunting some nasty creature that we haven't seen yet."

"Oh, they're hunting alright," Skyler replied. "They're hunting _us_."

Corrban grabbed the rifle and took a shot at the first goon. He had no idea who they were and what they wanted, but he wasn't playing any games. It looked like they were riding some kind of hoverbike, which meant that the goons were going to need to follow trails to keep in the air. The bikes used a type of magnetic repulsion to stay in the air and, as such, they couldn't go that far off course without falling out of the air. Corrban started shooting in the center of the group, causing the men to scatter. One of them almost flipped his bike. It fell on top of him and, going by the blood, he was dead. Sheyvan sprawled out against the rocks. He shot a motor unit and fire blossomed across the trail.

Something exploded beside them. Corrban jerked back as bits of rock sprayed down on them. Skyler started shooting back. The seven men fanned out as much as they could and started laying into the little outcropping. Corrban felt the cliff shudder from the force of their blasts. He fired back, catching one of them in the shoulder. Another one fire just above his head. Corrbam ducked down. He started shooting again, darkening the ground with his blasts. For a second, he wished he had some kind of grenade, but they couldn't risk running back to the ship for it. Skyler grunted when a piece of rock scratched his side. He caught another man in the leg, dropping him and making him scream.

Corrban clipped one of the hoverbikes. It spun around and fell over a man. Two of his buddies tried to get it off of him, but Sheyvan caught them both in the back. The last two stayed back. They were well out of range of each other's rifles, so now it was just a waiting game. No one moved for the longest time. The hot sunlight beat down on both groups and it had to be worse in the valley. No one tried to get the hoverbikes. Corrban thought he saw some kind of radio box on one of them, so he shot it and grinned when it exploded. One of the two goons fired a few warning shots, but they fell far short. Corrban narrowed his eyes. He had an idea, but he wasn't sure if it was going to work or not.

Sheyvan rested on his heels. "Well, this is lovely."

"We only have to get lucky once," Corrban softly said. He searched the other cliffs with the binoculars. "If we cause a landslide, we might be able to bury them. At least, that's what I'm counting on."

"Corrban, I would like to not landscape your planet," Sheyvan slowly replied.

"Better this than getting a destroyer firing at us," Corrban grumbled. "I'd rather cause a few landslides than have this place doused in radiation."

He aimed for an area that looked like it was made of loose shale. Corrban dialed the power all the way up and fired. The cliff held firm as the massive bolt of energy smashed into it, but a spiderweb of cracks blossomed across the surface. The cliff seemed to shudder for a second before it groaned low and deep. It crashed down over their head, moving in a slow waterfall of shale. All anyone could hear was the awful, groaning roar of the landslide. Clouds of dust rose in the air, blocking out the hot sun and making everyone cough. Half the cliff seemed to fall away in that one instant. The landslide gradually seemed to lose momentum and soon, only a few pieces of shale fell into the half filled valley.

"Remind me to never make you mad," Skyler quipped. He pressed a kiss against Corrban's lips. "That was impressive, my love."

"Ten credits says that Han is still playing holo-games," Skyler sighed. He kissed Corrban's head. "We probably need to move. Anyone worth their salt would have noticed that geologic event."

Corrban agreed with him. He smiled grimly as he imagined the men who had died screaming. It was what they deserved, after all.


	30. Chapter 30

Corrban didn't say much of anything as he cleaned his rifle. He hadn't enjoyed killing those men, but he was more than willing to keep doing it to free his planet. Centeotl had suffered enough. The last thing it needed was to be ground under the heels of something that hated it for the rest of eternity. They might not be able to hold Terra off forever, but at least they could try. Sometimes that was what needed to be done - showing the higher power that they were not alone in their strength and there were others that would snap at their heels until they crumbled or yielded. Personally, Corrban was hoping that they crumbled. Terra wasn't at anything near their full strength, not anymore, so his little plan could work.

Sheyvan had hidden the _Devil's Bastard Son_ in a swampy area, far from anywhere that Nellin's men would want to visit. Corrban was grateful. He had no idea how he was going to get in touch with the free people, though. That much, he figured, could be dealt with when he knew they weren't being looked for. Corrban was pretty sure that the idiots he had killed had sent a distress signal or they were tracked. Centeotl didn't have much in the way of tracking satellites, but it was possible for someone to be tracked via a comm. There was supposed to be some kind of application that allowed it. Corrban had a rabid hatred for anything that might track him, so he tried to avoid it at all cost.

The swamp was quiet and peaceful around him, full of thick plants and long, silvery moss. The trees had massive, thick roots that gripped the soil and wouldn't allow anything to push them over. Still pools of water were everywhere - any soil Corrban had found was saturated into a thick, stinking mud that stained everything and required vigorous scrubbing to remove. Dark blue insects darted through the air and bright, colorful birds rested in the trees. Corrban thought there were snakes. There had to be snakes. Most swamps that he had been in had them and this one was probably no different. He had seen something that looked like a giant striped cat, but it mostly ignored them and he was more than happy to let it be.

Skyler rested on the bridge. "You look like you're ready to go to war."

"I am." Corrban took the weapon apart and checked the crystal. "This is my homeworld. We might not have been born here, but we were brought here and we flourished."

"I know." Skyler diverted his hand and kissed it. "I don't want to lose you to this war."

"It would be the way I wanted to go," Corrban whispered. He stroked the man's hair and closed his eyes. "I... I didn't want to talk about what Nellin did to me. Not just when he had me a month ago, but when he had me as a younger man. I... I thought I loved him. He fucked me up. I didn't know how to love until I wound up with this crew. I thought that love was an ugly, violent thing - a thing that hurt and destroyed and made you bleed. I had no idea that love could be what I have with you, Han, and Sheyvan."

Han picked up his head when he heard his name. There was always something strange about that young man, like he wasn't all the way there, but he was kind enough. He got up from his couch nest and wrapped around Corrban. Corrban squirmed some, but he eventually settled down. Han didn't know that he hated being held like this - there was no way he could know. Corrban hadn't ever told anyone that Nellin had wrapped around him, held him against his will when the man reeked of stale alcohol and regret. Han, though, smelled like soap and sunlight - like good things that Corrban loved. Han pressed a kiss against the man's cheek and wrapped all around him.

"You smell good," Han softly said.

"I should - I use the same soap that you did," Corrban teased. Then his gaze hardened. "Han, did they ever give you a surgery?"

Han cocked his head. "I don't know. Why would I need to get cut? I'm not bad! I don't do anything that might make someone want to cut me or... I don't know. What was the question again?"

"Just sit down," Corrban sighed. He kissed Han's head when he sat and combed through the mane of silky hair as he looked for a scar. "I don't think we need to let him join us at night if he's the way I think he is. It might be reversible if it's a chip. If someone really fucked him up - cut up part of his brain or something like that - I don't know what we'll do."

"A war is no place for him anyways," Skyler grumbled. "Corrban, I'm not a soldier. This war of yours is no place for me, too."

"It's not a war." Corrban replied. His eyes narrowed when he found a thin, raised scar. "Well then. We'll have him scanned later. Might explain why he can eat himself into a food coma every other night and not get fat or sick. Might also explain why he's so weirdly compliant."

Han blinked. "Does that mean I'm bad?"

"Nope." Corrban kissed him again. "You're perfect just as you are. However, I am gonna get you looked at by a good doctor just as soon as I can."

He sighed and got Han off of him. Corrban needed some time to himself, so he popped one of the hatches and climbed up on the roof. The _Devil's Bastard Son_ didn't enjoy prolonged sub-atmospheric flight, but she was more than capable of doing it and wouldn't poison the environment. The metal under his boots was warm and the air was thick with insects and birds. Other than the wildlife, this area was desolate. Corrban had the feeling that sentient life might have spawned on the planet if it had been left alone, but anything that might have been capable of doing that was long since dead. Corrban wondered what it would look like once his people had the run of the place.

His people's ancient cities had been well planned and ahead of their time. Centeotl had no shortage of farmland, so they didn't need to construct floating gardens. The gods were seen as dead and the church that had been forced upon them had been mostly accepted. Corrban really didn't see much changing. The houses would get bigger, yes, and the land cleaner, but it would still stay as agricultural as it had been. The dogs Nellin had caged would go back to being wild again and maybe the land would heal from the mining attempts. Corrban found that he was looking forwards to it - he was pretty sure that Nahuatl and Spanish would go back to being the main languages and he would like hearing them again.

Corrban smiled wryly when his communicator buzzed. He had been hoping that people wouldn't bother him, but he did have a war to plan and that waited for no one.


	31. Chapter 31

Corrban eyed the communicator and sighed. "Mateo? What's going on?"

"They've caught on to what we're planning," the man softly said. Going by the sounds in the background, there was a fight. "Corrban, you gotta get over here! You have a ship that has guns! They're gonna wipe out the whole village because they think everyone's in on it!"

Corrban cursed and sprang up. He knew that the others had no idea what was going on, but he didn't care. They were on the ship. That was all that mattered. He held his hands over the dash, watching as the holographic keyboard sprang to life. The _Devil's Bastard Son_ seemed to tremble under him. Corrban knew where the village was. He just hoped he could get there in time. The ship groaned and shuddered as Corrban forced her up. Some of the heat seeking vines had draped over her hide and they caught at her as she started to rise into the air. Her thrust kicked up a maelstrom of leaves and mud. Corrban pulled up the shields as quickly as he could. He had no idea what types of weapons Nellin's men had, but he was going to bet they were nasty ones.

It only took a minute for him to find the village. It was a pitiful thing, filled with hovels made of rusted sheets of tin and mud bricks. Dogs snapped and snarled from the porches they were tucked under. Corrban couldn't see anyone, but the scanners told him there were several teams of roaming attackers. Corrban gripped the steering yoke. He dropped the ship right in the middle of the village. He had probably pushed her too hard, too fast and showered the already battered landscape with a nasty dose of radiation. That didn't matter, though. He could always apply for Andromedi intergalactic aid if he had too. Corrban wasn't too proud to ask for help. He would be dead now if that had happened.

Corrban grabbed a blaster rifle and dropped into the muddy streets. A dying donkey screamed as it bled heavily from its side. A young woman lay dead beside the animal, her face blasted half off. A rangy dog crouched beside the two and started licking at the blood. Corrban shot it and then killed the donkey. He ducked behind a hovel. He clutched the rifle against his chest and wished he had some kind of HUD. Blaster fire streaked beside him. Mateo crouched behind a tossed over cart. He had a laser rifle and what looked like five or sex grenades. Corrban hoped that Sheyvan, Skyler, and Han stayed in the ship. The last thing he wanted to do was get them killed.

This was his battle, not theirs. He'd be damned if he let them get killed.

A white dog snarled across the street. The dog was wearing battle armor and it moved with the grace of something trained for war. Corrban dropped it with two shots. He knew this village - knew it intimately. This was the place he had grown up in, these were the streets that had raised him until he was old enough to work. Corrban gritted his teeth. He hoped the fact that he knew this place would be enough to save him. Corrban looked up and saw what looked to be two men. He dropped those with a flurry of shots and hid behind a cinder block wall. The air was filled with the stench of burnt concrete and ozone. Corrban wanted to gag, but there was nothing he could do.

"Corrban!" Mateo yelled. He pointed behind him. "Look out!"

Corrban ducked just as blue-hot bolt of blaster fire streaked towards his head. He scrambled up as soon as he could. He had no idea who was trying to kill him. He didn't think that Nellin would get involved in a simple kill sweep like this, but he'd been wrong before. Maybe he was wrong right now. Someone screamed when a crude flamethrower was unleashed on him. The dead mam fell in a heap and fire blossomed across the village. The remaining villagers screamed and tried to flee. Corrban heard someone scream in Nahuatl, but it was too little, too late. The fire raced across the village and drove everyone towards the river. Corrban moved as quickly as he could. He didn't want to get left behind, not now.

"Corrban!" Nellin walked out of the fire like he was some kind of mythical creature. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Fighting for my people!" Corrban snarled.

"They're _dead_." Nellin stalked forwards and kicked aside a charred body. "You're a fool, you know that? You're a fool to think you can take me on and live to tell the tale. I'll wipe your brain so much that you'll be a drooling fuck puppy and thank me for the pleasure! I should have done that when I first got you back, you ungrateful animal!"

"I'm going to kill you." Corrban didn't raise his voice. The rifle he was carrying packed a lot of punch. "It's better than you deserve!"

"You think?" Nellin asked. "I gave you _everything_ , sweetheart. You would be just another working stiff if it wasn't for me. You should be thanking me on the bent knee for giving you everything I did. And what did you do? You ran away and now you're trying to kill me!"

Corrban screamed and started shooting. He needed to end this _now_.


	32. Chapter 32

The heat seared Corrban's skin and the roaring blaze almost deafened him. The fire crackled all around the both of them and bits of structures - walls, ceilings, support beams - collapsed toward the ground in a wall of flame. All he could see was the man in front of him, the man he loved and hated with equal measure. Corrban didn't know if he wanted to throw down his rifle and beg forgiveness or kill the bastard right there. Nellin hadn't been outright cruel to him. Maybe - Corrban shook himself. He came there to do a job and that job was kill Nellin. He narrowed his eyes and stalked forwards. Waves of heat radiated off the ground and blurred the air.

Nellin just stood there, stupidly. He wore his normal working close, not something one would fight in. Corrban wondered what he had been doing before his men called him in a panic. Had he been reading? Trying to keep up with Terran politics? Playing with his daughter? Corrban didn't even know why he cared about that man. If anything, the way he was standing made him a perfect target. Corrban picked up the rifle again. It would be easy enough to just shoot, to watch as the bolt burried itself in his chest and took him down. Or Corrban could wound him and let the fire do the work. His fingers tightened around the trigger. The fire raged around them and forced the two men closer.

In the distance, a dog screamed and more houses collapsed. Corrban could dimly hear the old fire trucks rattling up the narrow roads. Their tanks would be clogged with mud and fish from the rivers, making them only slightly useful. It wouldn't be quick enough to save Nellin if Corrban wanted him to burn to death. For a second, he wondered what the man would do if he cut his throat. Corrban hadn't ever held a beating human heart in his hands. He didn't think he wanted too, not now. He narrowed his eyes and watched as Nellin stepped back. His boot caught on a piece of fire blackened debris and he slipped. In that second, Corrban pulled the trigger and watched as the bolt carved its way through Nellin's all too human heart.

Nellin fell to his knees and placed his hands on the cauterized wound. "I didn't think you would do it, you know. I never thought you were a killer. I thought you were better than all of us."

"I'm not." Corrban crossed the ground quickly and disarmed Nellin. "I wanted to hold your heart in my hand, but I think I've seen enough death to last a thousand lifetimes."

Nellin closed his eyes and coughed. "What are you going to do with this, Corrban? It's nothing. It came from nothing and that's what it's always going to be. Making diamonds takes a good million years, you know, and not even Sci live that long. Maybe some of the old gods did, but we killed them long ago." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I came from nothing. Street rat from Mars, if you could believe it. Just another kid trying to make it big and I fucking _did_. I had damn near everything I wanted... and then I met you. Gods above... I wanted you from the first second I saw you. Maybe... maybe in another world, it would have worked out better, but if there's a man to kill me, I'm sure glad it's one I know."

"I loved you." Corrban let those words slip and he watched as Nellin started to bleed. "I love you still and I hate you in an equal measure."

"I know." Nellin coughed and smiled. His teeth were slicked with blood. "In another world..."

He closed his eyes and said nothing more. Corrban stood up. He felt very strange, like he wasn't really there, as he kicked the body aside. It was like someone else was controlling his body as he walked through the fire. A donkey cried out as it burned. The poor thing had been tied in its stable and now there was no way to get it out. The dead lay everywhere he looked. Some of them had burned to death and their bones were blackened. Charred into husks that were human only a few hours before. Others had been shot. Friend and foe lay side by side, their blood pooling on the charred and baked earth. The sky darkened overhead and soon a gentle rain began to fall.

Corrban let it drench him. He didn't know what to say or feel. He looked down at his weapon in disgust and wondered if he should throw it away. Nellin had been a part of him, like it or not, and now the man was dead. He had died on his feet like a true warrior, like the thing he had always claimed to be. Corrban shook his head. He brushed his dark hair out of his face and watched as the water picked up the filth on his hands. The cold rain soaked his body and pressed his clothing close to his skin. Corrban couldn't force himself to care. All he could see was the burned out village and all he could hear were the cries of the wounded. They filled the air, thick as flies, and clung to his skin in the same way.

Sheyvan grabbed his hand. "Is he dead?"

"Yeah." Corrban turned his head away. "Why does it hurt so much?"

"I don't know." Sheyvan looked away and sighed. "It gets easier when you kill and that's not a good thing. It's supposed to hurt, I think, when you get up close and personal with it. When all you can feel is recoil, that's when you know you've got a problem."

Corrban nodded and collapsed into the man's arms. He didn't know what else to say or do. Maybe it was a good thing that the rain was pelting down, because that way, no one would ever see his tears.


	33. Chapter 33

Corrban didn't say anything for the longest time. He had never killed a man in cold blood before - much of what he did was sheer bluster and he was good enough at it that damn near everyone backed off from him - and it _hurt_. He stared at his hands like they were covered in blood for the longest time before taking a long, hot shower as hot as he could stand it. It was scalding hot and turned his tanned skin bright red as he stood there. Corrban watched as the water sluiced off his third round of soap. Just because he couldn't see the blood didn't mean that he could still smell it or imagine the way Nellin's face looked like as he died. He had seen men die before, of course, but he hadn't killed a man like that before.

Skyler pressed a kiss against his face and dragged him out of the shower. "What are you trying to do?! Drown yourself?!"

"Maybe." Corrban shivered when his bright pink skin smarted against the cool air. "I... Skyler, I've shot guys before, alright? Never... never actually shot a guy that close before. Never watched as the light left his eyes or held him until he actually kicked the bucket. He was an evil bastard, yeah, but I kinda loved him because he fed me and did nice shit and..." He swore under his breath. "Fucking hell! That was... _Dammit_!"

He screamed and punched the one thing that was convenient and wouldn't break his hand. That meant that he hit Skyler, right in the stomach. The man doubled over and groaned before giving Corrban a nasty look. Corrban ignored him. He rubbed his forehead as he paced around that tiny room. Every reflective and metallic surface was covered in steam, so he could only imagine how he looked, but he knew he had to look like a madman. But, yet... Nellin hadn't loved him, not like he loved Skyler, Sheyvan, and Han. Nellin might have cared for him, yes, but it was more like he was caring for a pampered pet rather than an equal. He might have cared for Corrban because he owned him, but not because he loved Corrban.

"You have a nasty punch," Skyler groaned. He sat down over the toilet and rubbed at the surely forming bruise. "Next time, hit the walls like a normal person. Only crazy people hit other people, especially people who are trying to help them. That hurt, jackass."

"Sorry." Corrban kissed him in apology and dried himself off. "I... I just got a brainwave and it rattled me. Either I hit you or I broke my hand."

"No offense, but I would rather you broke your hand," Skyler muttered. He grabbed a towel and slapped Corrban upside the ass with it. "That hurt and I don't appreciate getting punched by the guy I love. One of them, anyways." He smiled softly and pressed a kiss to Corrban's cheek before squeezing his ass. "You know, I would feel like an ass if you broke your hand because of that bastard."

"He wasn't a bastard," Corrban sighed.

"Corrban." Skyler gave him a long look. "The man was a bastard. He treated you like I was treated and... Corrban. I love you. I don't want to have anyone hurt you like I was hurt and knowing that you were... it's the worst thing in my life. Knowing that I couldn't protect you, knowing that there was nothing I could have done to help you out even if I wanted too. And dammit, I know I would have wanted too!"

"I know." Corrban kissed him softly and stroked his cheek gently. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Skyler wrapped his arms around the other man and guided him towards the bedroom. "Ready to do anything?"

"No." Corrban sighed and looked down. "I... I... What he did to me, all I feel is his fingers on me. I love you and I want to feel you, but I can't."

He half expected Skyler to shove him down and take what he wanted. It was what Nellin would have done, of course, as would have every noble back on Terra. All they wanted was his body. They didn't want the man who had to live in that body, nor did they care that he was in pain from what they did. They had made him bleed more than once, then they fucked him all over again. He knew that Skyler would never do that to him. He _knew_ it - Skyler knew what he liked and wouldn't hurt him - but he still couldn't shake the feeling. Corrban wanted to throw himself in the shower all over again and actually drown himself this time. Could you drown yourself in a shower? Corrban half intended to find out.

"That's alright," Skyler whispered. He pressed a kiss against Corrban's cheek and held him close. "I'm not gonna hurt you, you know."

"I know." Corrban closed his eyes. He wrapped his arms around Skyler and tried not to cry. "Why does it hurt so much? He was a bad man and I hated him. I _hated_ him so much! He hurt me so fucking much and... and I loved him. I loved him! I don't know why, but I loved him and maybe I wanted him to love me, but why the hell does it hurt so much?!"

"Because you're a good man," Skyler replied. "That's why it hurts so much."

Corrban wished it didn't. He wished that he didn't feel like he wanted to rip his skin off or drown himself. He wished that he felt more normal, that he could smile just like Han did and not feel that the world was going to pieces around him. He wished that he wasn't from a little place that had been ravaged or that his people were still regarded as little more than slaves. Corrban just held himself and tried not to cry. Everything hurt. It was like something had been ripped out of his heart and now they would never be able to put it back.

If this was what killing felt like, Corrban never wanted to do it again.


End file.
